A 

•  MANUAL 


OF    THE 


HAND    LATHE: 

COMPRISING 

CONCISE   DIRECTIONS 

FOB 

WORKING  METALS  OP  ALL  KINDS,  IVORY,  BONE  AND  PRECIOUS 

WOODS;    DYEING,  COLORING,   AND  FRENCH  POLISHING; 

INLAYING    BY    VENEERS,    AND    VARIOUS    METHODS 

PRACTICED    TO    PRODUCE    ELABORATE    WORK 

WITH  DISPATCH,  AND  AT  SMALL  EXPENSE. 


BY    EGBERT    P.  WATSON, 

LATB  OF    "THB  SCIENTIFIC  AMERICAN,"    AUTHOR  OF  "  THK    MODERN   PRACTICE  0» 
AMERICAN    MACHINISTS   AND    INQINCER8." 


ILIXSTRATED   BY   SEVENTY-EIOHT    ENGRAVINGS. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

HENRY  CAREY  BAIRD,  INDUSTRIAL  PUBLISHER, 

406    WALNUT    STREET. 

LONDON: 

SAMPSON   LOW,  SON   &   MARSTON, 

CROWN  BUILDINGS,  188  FLEET  St. 

1869. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  In  the  year  1869,  by 

HENRY  CAREY  BAIRD, 

Ifc  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  In  and  for 
the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania, 


TO   MY   DEAR   SON, 

EGBERT  PEKLEY  WATSON, 

I    DEDICATE 
THIS     LITTLE     BOOK, 

IN    THE 

HOPE    THAT    HE    MAY   BE   A    GOOD   MAN, 
AND   A   GOOD   MECHANIC. 


.84600 


PREFACE. 


I  DID  not  write  this  little  book  with  the 
intention  of  apologizing  to  the  prospective 
reader,  so  soon  as  I  had  done  so,  but  with 
the  honest,  I  hope  not  egotistical,  feeling 
that  I  had  something  to  say  that  was  not 
generally  known.  We  live  to  learn  and  to 
impart  what  we  know  to  others,  and  I  have 
taken  this  method  of  giving  my  experience 
in  a  pastime  that  is  elevating,  artistic  in 
every  sense  of  the  word,  and  a  wholesome 
relief  from  the  cares  of  business. 

In  regard  to  the  work  itself,  I  can  show 
samples  of  every  thing  of  any  importance 
described  or  given  in  it.  I  have  not  made 
all  of  the  patterns  given  in  the  back  part,  for 
that  is  mere  routine,  but  in  gross,  and  in 
most  details,  the  book  is  the  result  of  expe- 
rience, and  will  be  found  reliable  as  far  as 

5 


6  PREFACE. 

it  goes.  That  it  does  not  cover  every  pos- 
sible change  and  use  to  which  the  lathe  can 
be  put,  I  am  well  aware. 

Something  must  be  left  for  the  workman 
to  find  out  himself.  Neither  have  I  given 
any  recipes  for  varnishes,  for  those  cannot 
be  made  by  inexperienced  persons.  More- 
over, they  can  be  had  so  cheaply  and  uni- 
versally, that  it  is  mere  folly  for  any  ama- 
teur to  make  them. 

Saluting  all  persons  who  love  the  art  of 
which  this  little  volume  is  descriptive, 
I  am  their  sincere  friend, 

EGBERT  P.  WATSON. 

NEW  YORK,  April  15,  1869. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I.  **» 

THE  FOOT  LATHE.  ...» 13 

CHAPTER  II. 
TOOLS 22 

CHAPTER   III. 

So  RAPERS,    ETC 30 

CHASING  AND  SCREW  CUTTING 33 

CHAPTER    IV. 
CHASERS,  ETC 35 

CHAPTER  V. 
CHUCKING 42 

CHAPTER  VI. 
METAL  SPINNING 51 

CHAPTER  VII. 
ORNAMENTAL  CUTTING 59 

TO  MAKE  A  PAIR  OP  SOLITAIRE  SLEEVE  BUTTONS....     59 

CHAPTER   VIII. 
CENTRES 65 

CHAPTER  IX. 
FANCY  TURNING 71 

7 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  X.  PAGB 

ORNAMENTAL  WOODS 77 

VARIETIES 77 

SNAKE  WOOD 78 

TULIP  WOOD 79 

GRANADILLA * 80 

TAMARIND 80 

CAM  WOOD 81 

Box  WOOD 81 

LAUREL  ROOT 82 

WHITE  HOLLY 82 

EBONY 82 

OLIVE  WOOD 83 

SANDAL  WOOD 83 

ROSE  WOOD 84 

CURLED  MAPLE 84 

BIRDS'  EYE  MAPLE 84 

TREATMENT * 85 

CHAPTER  XL 

WOOD  TURNING 87 

CHAPTER  XII. 

TOOLS  FOR  WOOD  TURNING 90 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

TOOL  TEMPERING,  ETC 92 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

ARTISTIC  WOOD  TURNING 96 

CHAPTER  XV. 

STAMP  INLAYING 102 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

DESIGNS  IN  MOSAIC 106 


CONTENTS.  9 

CHAPTER  XVII.  ™« 

FINISHING  THE  OUTSIDE 110 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

INLAYING  CONTINUED 114 

GLUING  IN  VENEERS 115 

IVORY 116 

POLISHING 118 

DYEING  IVORY 118 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

ORNAMENTAL  DESIGNS  FOR  INLAYING 121 

CHAPTER  XX. 

GENERAL  SUMMARY 125 

LACQUERS 126 

SOLDERING 127 

VARNISHING  AND  POLISHING 129 

BRUSHES 131 

PEARL 131 

MISCELLANEOUS  TOOLS 131 

CURVING  VENEERS 132 

CUTTING  MISCELLANEOUS  MATERIALS 133 

INDEX.. 135 


MANUAL 
OF  THE  HAND  LATHE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   FOOT   LATHE. 

THERE  are  two  distinct  kinds  of  work  done  in 
foot  lathes — the  useful  and  the  merely  ornamental. 
Both  afford  enjoyment  and  profit  to  those  who 
practise  them.  The  mechanic  who  earns  his 
living  by  working  ten  hours  a  day  in  a  workshop, 
does  not  care  to  go  home  and  pursue  the  same 
calling  in  the  evening;  but  he  can  institute  an 
agreeable  change  in  his  life,  beautify  his  dwelling, 
and  cultivate  his  taste,  by  the  use  of  the  lathe,  and 
thus  obtain  ornaments  that  would  cost  large  sums 
if  purchased  at  the  stores ;  or  he  may,  indeed, 
make  the  lathe  a  source  of  revenue,  and  sell  the 
product  of  his  skill  and  ingenuity  at  high  prices 
to  those  who  admire,  but  have  not  the  ability  to 
construct. 

To  many  mechanics,  even,  the  lathe  is  merely  a 
machine  for  turning  cylinders  or  disks,  or  exe- 
2  13 


_84600 


14  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

cuting  beads,  ogees,  scrolls,  or  curves  of  various 
radii,  so  that,  after  all,  the  work  is  pretty  much 
alike,  and  ceases  to  be  attractive.  This  is  quite  a 
mistaken  view.  There  are  no  such  goods  in  mar- 
ket as  those  made  on  lathes,  and  peculiar  tools 
used  in  connection  with  them — by  lathes  with 
traversing  mandrels,  with  geometric  chucks,  with 
dome  chucks,  and  compound  slide  rests.  There 
are  lathes  that,  while  one  could  chase  up  a  five* 
eight  bolt  in  them  as  well  as  on  the  simple  pulley 
and  treadle*  machine,  are  also  capable  of  executing 
all  sorts  of  beautiful  things — vases  with  bases 
nearly  square,  or  exactly  square,  with  round  tops 
and  hexagonal  bodies,  with  gracefully-curved  an- 
gular sides  and  bases,  fluted  vertically;  boxes 
with  curious  patterns,  resembling  basket  work ; 
in  fact,  any  combination  of  straight  and  curved 
lines,  cut  in  the  sides,  it  is  possible  for  an  inge- 
nious man  to  invent.  Strictly  speaking,  these  are 
not  lathes,  for  in  order  to  do  the  things  before 
mentioned  it  is  necessary  to  use  after  attachments 
in  connection  with  them,  so  that  the  combination 
of  them  produces  the  results  spoken  of.  There  is, 
absolutely,  an  unlimited  field  for  the  genius  of 
workmen  to  exert  itself  in  designing  patterns  and 
executing  work  of  an  ornamental  character. 

All  ornamental  work  resolves  itself  into  move- 
ments   of    three    kinds — angular,    circular    and 


THE   FOOT    LATHE.  15 

straight.  From  the  combination  of  these  with 
each  other,  the  times  where  they  merge  and 
emerge,  where  a  movement  of  one  kind  changes 
into  any  other,  where  an  ellipse  becomes  part  of  a 
circle,  where  circles  are  generated  across  the  cir- 
cumferences of  other  circles,  where  these  patterns 
are  drawn  over  and  upon  each  other  without  de- 
stroying the  character  of  either — we  say,  by  such 
movements,  and  many  others  which  it  would  be 
confusing  to  follow,  the  most  beautiful  forms  are 
made. 

Or,  if  the  taste  of  the  workman  runs  upon  me- 
chanical instead  of  artistic  things,  there  are  steam 
engines  to  be  made,  steam  boilers  to  be  spun  up, 
of  small  size ;  in  fact,  any  piece  or  machine  that 
can  be  thought  of. 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  specify  the  innu- 
merable kinds  of  work  that  can  be  done  in  a  hand 
lathe,  but  the  amateur  who  delights  in  metal  turn- 
ing may  make  trinkets  of  all  kinds  for  his  friends, 
that  shall  vie  in  beauty  with  the  best  efforts  of 
the  jeweler  and  goldsmith.  This,  of  course,  is  de- 
pendent on  the  material  used,  the  taste  of  the 
workman,  and  his  originality  of  conception.  Pins 
for  ladies'  wear  can  be  made  of  boxwood  and 
ebony,  glued  together  in  sections,  of  all  designs, 
and  afterwards  turned  in  beads  and  mouldings,  or 
otherwise  ornamented  in  a  chuck,  as  will  be 


16  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND    LATHE. 

shown  hereafter.  Sleeve  buttons  can  be  made  of 
ebony  and  silver,  ivory  and  silver,  pearl  and  gold, 
or  any  combination  that  is  desired.  Chess  and 
checker  men  also  afford  a  chance  to  display  skill. 
And,  besides  these,  special  work  of  any  nature  is 
within  the  capacity  of  the  machine. 

There  is  no  family  in  this  country  that  would 
not  find  it  economy  to  have  a  foot  lathe  in  the 
house,  where  the  members  have  mechanical  tastes 
— not  necessarily  the  male  members,  for  ladies  use 
foot  lathes,  in  Europe,  with  the  greatest  dexterity. 
Some  of  the  most  beautiful  work  ever  made,  was 
by  Miss  Holtzapfel,  a  relative  of  the  celebrated 
mechanist  of  the  same  name.  If  there  are  shovels 
to  be  mended,  the  lathe  will  drill  the  holes  and 
turn  the  rivets.  If  the  handle  of  the  saucepan  is 
loose,  it  will  do  the  same.  If  scissors  or  knives 
want  grinding,  there  is  the  lathe  ;  if  the  castors  on 
the  sofa  break  down,  there  is  the  lathe ;  if  skates 
need  repairs,  either  of  grinding  or  of  any  other 
kind,  there  is  the  lathe.  In  short,  it  ought  to  be 
as  much  a  part  of  domestic  economy  as  the  sew- 
ing machine,  for  it  takes  the  odd  stitches  in  the 
mechanical  department  that  save  money. 

Let  not  the  inexperienced  reader,  who  hears  of 
a  lathe  for  the  first  time,  be  frightened  at  this  ar- 
ray of  terms,  or  diverted  from  the  use  of  it  by 
the  recital.  In  its  simple  form,  as  shown  in  Fig.  1, 


THE   FOOT   LATHE. 
Fig,  1. 


17 


it  is  readily  understood,  and,  after  a  little  prac- 
tice, easily  managed  by  any  one,  and,  after  the  first 
few  weeks,  the  amateur  will  realize  the  fruits  of 

his  application. 
2* 


18  MANUAL  OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

At  first,  it  had  not  even  a  continuous  rotary 
motion,  but  the  spindle  was  driven  by  a  belt 
worked  by  a  spring  pole  or  its  equivalent.  The 
belt  was  rolled  round  the  spindle,  and  the  pole 
allowed  to  spring  up ;  the  spindle  then  revolved 
the  length  of  the  belt,  or  rope,  for  belts  were  not 
thought  of,  and  the  operation  was  repeated,  the 
work  being  done  only  when  the  force  of  the  spring 
pole  revolved  the  spindle  and  the  job  the  right 
way. 

Foot  lathes  had,  prior  to  the  introduction  of 
the  engine  lathe,  been  used  on  very  heavy  work. 
It  is  but  a  few  years,  comparatively  speaking — 
not  twenty — since  cast-iron  shafts,  six,  eight,  and 
ten  inches  in  diameter,  were  turned  in  such  lathes. 
For  all  that  we  know  to  the  contrary,  many  jobs, 
far  exceeding  this  in  size,  have  been  thus  exe- 
cuted. 

In  some  shops,  there  are  still  standing  heavy 
oaken  shears,  made  of  timber  twenty  inches  deep, 
and  four  or  six  inches  wide,  faced  with  boiler 
iron,  and  in  the  racks  above  there  are  long- 
shanked  tools,  with  which  the  men  of  old  were 
wont  to  do  the  work. 

These  lathes  are  never  used  now,  except  for 
drilling  holes,  or  for  apprentices  to  practice  on, 
but  they  serve  to  show  what  machinists  had  to  do 
in  olden  times,  when  there  were  no  vise  benches 


THE   FOOT   LATHE.  19 

Fig.  2. 


to  sit  on  and  watch  the  chips  curling  off  the  tool, 
as  men  do  now. 

Hand  lathes  are  not  in  great  favor  in  large  ma- 
chine shops.  They  are  not  used,  or  should  not  be, 
for  any  purpose  except  drilling,  and  then  they  are 
no  longer  hand  lathes,  but  horizontal  drilling  ma- 
chines. There  is  no  simple  work  to  be  done  on  a 
hand  lathe  that  could  not  be  performed  to  better 
advantage  and  more  cheaply  on  a  machine  con- 
structed for  the  purpose. 

Some  large  machine  shops  keep  a  hand  lathe 
going  continually,  cutting  off  stud  bolts,  facing 
and  rounding  up  nuts,  and  similar  work.  This 
does  not  seem  profitable.  A  machine  to  do  this 
work  would  do  more,  of  a  better  quality,  than 
hand  labor  could. 

The  foot  lathe — the  terms  hand  and  foot  lathe 
are  synonymous — is  generally  used,  at  the  present 
time,  by  small  machinists,  manufacturers  of  gas 
fixtures,  amateurs,  etc.;  men  who  do  not  work  a 


20  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

lathe  constantly,  but  are  called  off  to  braze  or 
solder,  or,  perhaps,  to  fit  some  detail  with  a  file. 
For  these  uses  the  foot  lathe  is  one  of  the  cheap- 
est of  tools ;  for  the  same  person  that  does  the  work 
furnishes  the  power  also,  so  that  a  man  working 
on  a  foot,  or  hand  lathe,  as  it  is  often  called, 
ought  to  have  first-class  wages.  Moreover,  a  first- 
rate  foot  lathe  turner  is  always  a  good  mechanic, 
for  it  takes  no  small  degree  of  dexterity  to  per- 
form the  several  jobs  with  ease,  and  dispatch,  and 
certainty.  To  always  get  hold  of  the  right  tool, 
to  use  the  same  properly,  so  that  it  will  last  a 
reasonable  time  without  being  ground  or  tem- 
pered, to  rough-turn  hollow  places  with  a  square 
edge,  to  chase  a  true  thread  to  the  right  size  every 
time,  without  making  a  drunken  one,  or  a  slant- 
ing one,  to  make  a  true  thread  inside  of  an  oil 
cup  or  a  box — all  these  several  tasks  require  good 
judgment,  dexterity,  and  a  steady  hand.  Of 
course,  where  a  slide-rest  is  used,  the  case  is  dif- 
ferent. We  allude,  specially,  to  a  cutting  tool 
managed  by  the  hand. 

To  do  all  these  things,  however,  it  is  necessary 
to  have  tools,  and  good  ones,  or  none.  It  is  an 
old  saying,  that  a  bad  workman  quarrels  with,  his 
tools,  but  a  good  workman  has  a  right  to  quarrel 
with  bad  tools,  if  he  is  furnished  with  them, 
through  chance  or  design.  It  is  impossible  to  ex- 


THE   FOOT   LATHE.  21 

cute  good  work  with  a  dull  tool,  one  badly 
shaped,  or  unsuited  to  the  purpose,  and,  therefore, 
it  is  important  to  set  out  right  at  the  beginning. 

There  is  no  tool  more  efficient  in  the  hands  of  a 
good  workman,  than  the  diamond  point,  Fig.  2, 
here  shown.  For  roughing  off  a  piece  of  metal, 
for  squaring  up  the  end,  for  facing  a  piece  held  in 
the  chuck,  for  running  out  a  curve,  or  rounding 
up  a  globe,  it  is  equally  well  adapted.  It  may  be 
truly  called  the  turner's  friend. 


22  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND  LATHE. 


CHAPTER  II. 

TOOLS. 

ANY  one  who  has  watched  a  novice  at  work  on 
a  lathe,  must  have  remarked  the  difficulty  he  has  in 
controlling  the  tool  and  keeping  up  the  motion  ot 
the  treadle  at  the  same  time.  The  two  operations 
are  difficult  to  "  get  the  hang  of,"  to  use  a  homely 
phrase ;  but  once  conquered,  the  work  can  proceed. 
The  natural  tendency  is  to  slack  up  or  stop  the 
motion  of  the  treadle  while  the  tool  is  engaged, 
and  the  tool  is,  therefore,  at  one  time  under  the 
work,  at  another  time  above  it,  at  another  jumping 
rankly  in,  until,  finally,  the  piece  goes  whirling  out 
of  the  center  or  the  chuck,  and  the  operator  flushes 
all  over  at  his  awkwardness. 

This,  of  course,  is  remedied  by  practice ;  and  as 
this  work  is  written  mainly  for  the  information  of 
beginners  and  amateurs,  we  hope  that  experts  and 
those  who  know  all  about  hand  lathes,  will  excuse 
allusion  to  such  simple  things  as  holding  the  tool 
properly,  and  kindred  matters. 

The  lathe  must  be  of  such  a  height  as  the  work- 
man finds  convenient,  so  that  he  is  not  obliged  to 


TOOLS.  23 

stoop  much,  and,  at  the  same  time,  low  enough  to 
allow  the  weight  of  the  body  to  be  thrown  on  the 
tool  when  hard  work  is  to  be  done.  The  speed  of 
the  lathe  ought  to  be  very  high  on  the  smallest 
cone,  and  there  should  be  three  speeds,  at  least, 
for  different  work.  The  object  is  to  regulate  the 
velocity  of  the  work  in  the  lathe,  and  keep  the 
motion  of  the  treadle  uniform,  as  near  as  may  be, 
at  all  times.  It  distresses  a  workman  greatly, 
when  chasing  a  fine  thread  on  a  small  diameter,  if 
he  has  to  tread  fast  to  get  up  the  proper  speed,  as 
he  does  when  there  are  only  two  speeds.  On  the 
contrary,  for  larger  jobs,  it  is  difficult  to  keep  up 
a  rotary  motion  if  the  foot  moves  slowly,  as  it 
must  in  order  not  to  burn  the  tool  by  a  high  ve- 
locity on  some  kinds  of  work.  Foot  lathes,  in 
general,  are  not  geared,  although  some  are,  and 
ought  to  have  wider  ranges  of  speed  than  they  do. 
Where  one  class  of  work  is  done,  however,  it 
makes  little  difference,  but  for  general  turning, 
the  speeds  should  vary. 

Another  difficulty  experienced  by  beginners  is 
in  holding  the  tool  still — rigidly  so.  They  allow 
it  to  "  bob  "  back  and  forth  against  the  work,  if  it 
runs  untrue,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  make  a  job. 
The  tool  must  be  held  hard  down,  as  if  it  grew  to 
the  rest,  and  never  moved,  nor  receded,  until  the 
cut  begun  is  finished. 


24  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

The  "rest"  should  be  of  soft,  wrought  iron, 
since  that  material  holds  a  tool  with  more  tenaci- 
ty ;  imposing  less  strain  on  the  arms  of  the  opera- 
tor. It  should  be  dressed  off  smooth  as  often  as 
it  gets  badly  worn,  or  cut  by  indentations.  Cast 
iron  is  not  good,  and  steel  is  not  so  good  as 
wrought  iron.  A  special  rest  should  be  kept  for 
chasing  threads  with,  since  the  least  obstacle  is 
enough,  when  running  up  a  fine  thread,  to  divert 
the  chaser  and  spoil  the  job,  by  making  a  drunken 
thread.  If  we  now  suppose  the  lathe  to  be  in 
good  order,  the  centers  true  and  well-turned  to  a 
gauge,  the  rod  (if  that  is  the  job)  between  them  and 
properly  "dogged,"  the  centers  oiled,  and  the 
rest  at  the  right  height,  we  shall  be  all  ready  to 
start.  The  rest  should  be  high  enough  to  bring 
the  point  of  the  tool  a  little  above  the  center. 

To  rough  off  the  outside,  and  make  it  run  true, 
is  the  first  step,  and  the  tool  must,  therefore,  be 
Fig.  3. 


held  as  in  Fig.  3,  or  so  that  the  point  and  part  of 
the  edge  alone  engage  with  the  work.     This  will 


TOOLS.  25 

take  off  a  thin,  spiral  cut,  without  springing  the 
shaft  or  making  it  untrue.  The  whole  surface  of 
the  shaft  must  be  thus  run  over,  beginning  at  the 
right  hand  and  shifting  the  tool  as  fast  as  one  part 
is  turned.  The  tool  should  not  be  moved  rigidly 
in.  a  straight  line  toward  the  belt,  but  by  holding 
it  hard  down  on  the  rest,  so  that  the  bottom  edge 
bears  as  in  Fig.  2,  and  rocking  the  tool  on  that 
angle,  so  that  the  point  describes  a  curve,  as  in 
Fig.  4. 


Fig.  4,  the  work  will  be  turned  evenly  and  true. 

We  must  remark,  in  passing,  that  the  person 
who  reads  these  directions,  and  then  undertakes  to 
turn  by  them,  will  find  that  reading  how  to  do  a 
thing,  and  doing  it,  are  two  different  matters. 

It  looks  very  nice  to  see  a  skater  darting  over 
the  ice  at  his  ease,  but  try  it  once,  and,  if  you 
never  knew  before,  you  will  understand  what  ex- 
perience means.  Trying  to  teach  a  person  to  be  a 
turner,  in  a  book,  is  analogous.  One  can  only  in- 
dicate the  general  method,  and  leave  experience  to 
do  the  rest. 
3 


26  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

After  the  whole  surface  has  been  run  over,  the 
same  tool  may  be  used  on  the  flat  side  for  redu- 
cing the  work  to  one  diameter  throughout  the 

Fig.  5. 


length.  The  reader  must  not  assume  that  there 
is  no  other  tool  than  a  diamond  point;  he  will 
find  many  others  adverted  toy  as  we  proceed. 

It  is  most  important  that  the  ends  of  a  rod  or 
shaft  should  be  squared  up  first,  before  the  body 

Fig.  6. 


is  turned,  for  the  removal  of  some  slight  inequal- 
ity subsequently  may  cause  the  whole  shaft  to  run 
out  of  truth.  The  center  must  be  drilled  with  a 


TOOLS. 


27 


Fig.  7.  small  drill,  and  slightly  counter- 

sunk. When  the  end  is  squared 
up,  the  center  must  be  run  back 
a  little,  so  that  the  tool  point 
may  project  over  the  drilled 
hole,  and  thus  make  it  all  true 
about  the  center,  as  in  Fig.  5. 
This  will  make  the  work  push 
over  to  one  side  of  the  center, 
but  that  is  of  no  consequence. 
Let  it  run  as  it  will ;  so  long  as 
it  does  not  come  out  of  the  cen- 
ters there  need  be  no  apprehen- 
sion. 

Fig.  6,  is  another  kind  of 
roughing  tool,  to  do  heavier 
work  with. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  tools 
used  in  foot  lathes,  called 
straight  and  heel  tools.  Fig.  7 
is  a  heel  tool.  It  is  so  called 
from  the  heel  which  is  forged  on 
the  lower  end.  One  form  of  the 
straight  tool  has  already  been 
shown.  The  heel  tool  is  used  on  heavy  work, 
and  the  object  of  it  is  apparent,  namely,  to  hold 
on  the  rest,  and  so  impose  but  little  labor  on  the 
workman  to  retain  it  in  place,  or  prevent  it  from 


28  MANUAL   OF  THE  HAND  LATHE. 

receding.  It  is  generally  forged  from  half  inch 
or  five  eighth  steel.  The  steel  is  held  in  a  handle 
twenty  inches  long,  grooved  on  top  to  fit  the  steel, 
and  furnished  with  a  handle  at  right  angles.  This 
handle  has  a  square  eye  in  the  top  that  the  tool 
passes  through.  A  nut  at  the  end  of  it  screws  up 
the  eye  and  binds  the  tool  fast  in  the  groove,  so 
that  it  cannot  slip. 

It  is  given  complete  in  Fig.  7.     The  lower  han- 

Fig.  8. 


die  enables  the  workman   to  have   great  power 
over  the  edge,  and  to  direct  it  from  or  to  the 


TOOLS.  29 

work  without  danger  of  catching.  The  tool  is 
used  by  resting  the  end  on  the  shoulder,  as  in  Fig. 
8,  and  turning  the  lowest  handle.  Since  the  heel 
holds  the  tool  from  slipping,  there  is  no  occasion 
to  bear  against  it.  In  fact,  there  is  no  occasion,  at 
any  time,  to  force  the  tool  from  the  workman,  but 
it  must  be  turned  sideways,  back  and  forth.  A 
piece,  properly  centered,  may  be  cut  in  any  way 
without  destroying  its  truth. 


3* 


30  MANUAL   OP   THE   HAND   LATHE. 


CHAPTER  III. 

SCRAPERS,   ETC. 

To  suit  different  kinds  of  work,  as  previously 
stated,  various  tools  are  needed,  but  the  reader 
must  not  expect  to  see  them  all  illustrated  in  this 
book.  The  workman  will  learn  what  tools  he 
needs,  and  make  them  for  himself,  which  will  be 
of  more  advantage  to  him  than  engravings  could 
be.  The  tools  here  shown,  will  be  found  very 
useful  in  different  places. 

Fig-  »•  Fig.  9  is  the  end  of  a  thin-edged,  flat 
scraper,  and  is  chiefly  to  be  used  on 
brass  work.  It  may  be  of  any  length 
and  size,  but  for  small  lathes,  and  light 
work,  it  is  cheaper  and  handier  to  make 
it  of  thin  sheet  steel,  one  eighth  or  one 
tenth  of  an  inch  thick,  and  to  form  the 
reverse  end  into  a  round  nose,  or  half-circle 
scraper. 

It  often  happens  that  fillets  or  hollows  occur,  as 
in  finishing  ornamental  brass  work,  in  connection 
with  flat  surfaces.  By  having  such  a  tool  as  this, 
the  necessity  of  laying  one  tool  down  and  picking 


SCRAPERS,    ETC. 


31 


up  another,  is  obviated,  for  the  two  are  combined 
in  one.     For  iron  work,  it  is  customary  to  use  a 
heavier  and  thicker  tool  for  finishing.    As  in  Fig. 
Fig.  10.  10,    the    front   edge    is 

slightly  raised  or  con- 
cave, to  make  it  sharp 
and  hold  a  cut  well.  All 
turning  tools  for  finish- 
ing iron  are  made  thick- 
er than  those  for  brass, 
and  should  have  lips,  or  curved  cutting  edges. 
Such  tools  cannot  be  used  for  brass,  as  they  are 
too  sharp ;  the  edges  jump  into  the  metal  and 
spoil  the  work. 

A  tool  for  scraping  brass  work  of  some  kinds  is 
made  as  shown  in  Figs.  11  and  12. 
Fig.  11. 


Fig.  12. 


There  is  no  occasion  to  make  the  ends  at  dif- 
ferent angles,  except  the  convenience,  before 
stated,  of  having  four  cutting  edges  on  one  piece, 
for  any  angle  can  be  easily  given  by  the  position 


32  MANUAL   OF   THE    HAND   LATHE. 

of  the  hand  or  the  direction  of  the  rest.  These 
tools,  here  alluded  to,  are  only  to  be  used  when  the 
job  has  been  all  turned  true  and  the  scale  removed  ; 
they  scrape,  merely,  they  do  not  cut. 

Such  tools  sometimes  save  a  few  steps  at  a  critical 
period;  that  is,  when  the  tool  is  well  set  and  in  place, 
so  that  the  work  is  done  better  and  more  expe- 
ditiously.  Apart  from  this  consideration,  there 
is  the  chance  of  cutting  or  injuring  the  hands,  by 
the  proximity  of  sharp  edges.  Under  the  control 
of  an  expert,  however,  there  is  little  danger  from 
this  cause,  as  inspection  will  show.  Skilful  men 
that  have  worked  a  lifetime  at  their  trade,  have 
few  marks  or  scars  on  their  hands,  as  a  general 
thing. 

When  these  scrapers  are  used  on  cast  iron,  or 
indeed,  on  brass  of  a  peculiar  composition,  they 
sometimes  "  chatter,"  as  it  is  called,  and  leave  the 
work  full  of  deep,  unsightly  marks,  like  those  on 
the  edge  of  coins.  The  cause  of  chattering  is  the 
rapid  vibration  of  the  tool,  so  that  it  springs  away 
from,  and  against  the  work,  with  great  rapidity, 
leaving  traces  of  its  edge  on  the  work.  Chatter- 
ing may  be  prevented,  by  putting  a  piece  of  sole 
leather  on  the  rest,  between  it  and  the  tool. 

The  tools  with  long  handles  are  chiefly  intended 
for  heavy  work,  or  that  which  requires  both 
hands  to  the  cut,  but  there  are  smaller  tools  than 


SCKAPERS,    ETC. 


33 


these,  used  by  amateurs,  wherein  the  common 
file  handle,  or  one  like  it,  only  a  little  longer,  is 
employed  instead. 

CHASING  AND  SCREW  CUTTING. 

In  an  engine,  or  power  lathe,  all  screws  are  cut 
by  trains  of  gears,  as  mechanics  well  know,  but 
in  the  hand  lathe,  which  was  the  first  machine, 
screws,  both  male  and  female,  must  be  made  by 
chasers  or  hubs,  both  inside  and  outside.  The 
chaser  itself  must  be  made  first,  however,  and 
that  is  done  by  a  simple  tool  called  "a  hub." 
Fig.  13. 


The  chaser  is  first  forged  in  blank,  for  an  out- 
Fig.  14.  Fig.  15. 


side  chaser,  as  in  Fig.  14,  and  as  in  Fig.  15  for  an 


34 


MANUAL  OF  THE  HAND  LATHE. 


inside  tool.  It  is  then  filed  up,  and  held  against 
a  hub,  shown  in  Fig.,  13,  running  in  the  lathe. 
This  rapidly  cuts  away  the  chaser  blank,  and 
forms  the  teeth  in  it  perfectly.  The  lines  across 
it  are  spiral  grooves,  cut  completely  round  from 
one  side  to  the  other,  so  that  the  hub  cuts  the 
blank  like  any  other  tool.  Fig.  16  represents 
the  chaser. 

Fig.  16. 


CHASERS,   ETC.  35 


CHAPTER   IV. 

CHASERS,   ETC. 

IT  is  not  always  an  easy  task  to  chase  a  true 
thread  on  a  piece  of  work,  and  even  "  the  boldest 
holds  his  breath  for  a  time,"  if  he  has  a  nice  piece 
of  work  all  done  but  the  thread,  and  that  in  a 
critical  part.  It  is  so  easy  to  make  a  drunken 
thread,  or  one  in  which  the  spirals  are  not  true, 
but  diverge  or  waver  in  their  path  around  the 
shaft,  that  many  are  made.  That  they  are  more 
common  than  true  threads,  is  well  known  to  me- 
chanics. To  start  a  thread  true  is  quite  easy  with 
an  inside  chaser;  for,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  is 
seldom  that  a  drunken  thread  is  made  on  inside 
work ;  only  have  the  bore  itself  true,  and  the 
chaser  will  run  in  properly.  The  case  is  different 
when  a  bolt  or  shaft  is  to  be  cut.  With  fine 
threads,  the  slightest  obstruction  on  the  rest  will 
cause  the  chaser  to  catch  and  stop  slightly.  No 
matter  how  slight  the  stoppage,  it  is  certain  to 
damage  the  thread.  The  injury  is  more  percepti- 
ble on  fine  threads  than  on  coarse,  for,  in  the 
former,  if  the  threads  do  not  fit  (as  they  will  not 


36  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

if  they  are  drunken,  one  crossing  the  other,  when 
both  parts  are  put  together),  the  drunken  thread 
will  not  come  fair  with  the  other.  In  coarse 
threads,  however,  it  will  not  be  so  apparent,  for, 
by  making  the  drunken  thread  smaller,  it  will 
have  play  and  accommodate  itself  to  its  place.  This 
is  not  workmanship,  it  is  "  make-shift." 

To  chase  a  true  thread  the  rest  must  be  smooth 
and  free  from  burrs  or  depressions.  Nice  work- 
men keep  a  special  rest,  with  a  hard,  polished 
steel  edge,  expressly  for  this  purpose. 

If  the  chasers  themselves  are  smoothly  finished 
at  the  bottom,  on  an  emery  wheel,  they  are  all 
the  better.  With  these  precautions,  and  others 
noted  below,  success  is  certain.  When  a  thread 
is  to  be  started,  take  a  fine  diamond-pointed  tool, 
and  hold  it  on  the  end  of  the  shaft  to  be  chased. 
Set  the  lathe  going,  and  give  the  tool  a  quick 
twist  with  the  wrist,  so  that  a  spiral  will  be  traced 
on  the  work,  like  Fig.  17. 

Fig.  17. 


Some  part  of  this  will  correspond  with  the 
pitch  of  the  thread  to  be  cut,  and  there  is  less 
liability  of  making  it  drunken.  By  a  little  prac- 


CHASERS,    ETC.  37 

lice,  one  is  able  to  hit  the  pitch  of  the  chaser  ex- 
actly in  making  a  start. 

"  There  is  no  trouble,  after  you  once  know 
how."  We  have  chased  quantities  of  small 
screws,  with  forty-eight  threads  to  the  inch,  and 
not  a  sixteenth  of  one  inch  in  diameter.  If  the 
chaser  once  hesitates  on  such  screws,  they  are 
spoiled.  For  heavy  threads — seven  and  eight  to 
the  inch,  which  is  about  as  hard  work  as  any  one 
wants  to  do, — it  is  the  custom  of  some  turners  to 
use  a  tool  with  only  two  teeth,  and  some  use  only 
a  sharp-edged  cutter,  like  Fig.  18,  to  deepen  the 

Fte.  18. 


thread,  the  chaser  being  used  afterward,  to  recti- 
fy the  job.  There  is  danger  with  this  tool,  unless 
it  is  used  by  an  expert,  of  digging  out  the  thread, 
-so  that  the  last  end  of  it  will  be  worse  than  the 
•first. 

Another  tool,  used  in  chasing  heavy  threads,  is 
a  doctor.  This  consists  in  having  a  fac-simile  of 
the  thread  to  be  cut  on  the  back  of  the  chaser, 
and  in  applying  a  short  set  screw  behind,  so  that, 


38  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

as  the  iron  is  cut  away,  the  chaser  may  be  fol- 
lowed up  behind.  Fig.  19  is  the  doctor,  but  the 
follower  opposite  the  chaser  is  too  narrow,  and 
should  be  made  nearly  half  a  circle  to  avoid  slip- 
ping ;  with  this  exception  it  is  all  right. 

These  tools,  and  the  screws  made  by  them,  are 
all  inferior  to  those  made  by  lathes  with  tra- 
versing mandrels ;  that  is,  a  mandrel  which  slides 
in  and  out  of  the  head  stock,  as  in  a  Holtzapffel 
lathe* 

This  lathe  has  a  series  of  hubs,  unlike  the  one 
shown  previously,  slipped  over  the  back  end  of  the 

Fig.  19. 


lathe  spindle  (furthest  from  the  workman)  and  a 
fixed  nut  on  the  head-stock,  which,  being  put  in 


39 

communication  with  the  hub  on  the  mandrel, 
drives  the  same  in  and  out,  according  to  the  direc- 
tion the  cone-pulleys  are  turned.  Of  course,  with 
such  an  attachment  as  this,  there  is  no  danger  of 
making  drunken  threads,  for  the  hubs  which 
start  the  threads,  are  cut  with  a  train  of  gears  in 
an  engine  lathe,  so  that  it  is  impossible  for  them 
to  be  incorrect.  Moreover,  a  square  thread,  or  a 
V-shaped  thread,  can  be  made  with  them,  which 
is  not  the  case  with  common  chasers. 

In  lathes  that  have  traversing  mandrels  to  cut 
screws,  the  tool  itself  remains  stationary,  but  as 
this  is  obviously  a  disadvantage  in  many  kinds  of 
work,  it  is  far  better  to  have  the  tool  advance  and 
the  mandrel  revolve  as  usual.  By  this  plan  much 
time  is  saved,  a  greater  range  of  work  is  possible 
with  the  same  gear,  and  a  piece  that  is  chucked, 
or  one  that  is  between  the  centers,  can  be  cut  with 
equal  facility. 

Any  common  lathe  can  be  rigged  to  do  this  by 
putting  a  shell  on  the  back  end  of  the  mandrel, 
between  the  pulley  and  the  set  screw,  and  slipping 
the  hub  over  the  shell,  with  a  feather,  to  keep  it 
from  turning.  To  take  a  thread  from  this  hub, 
a  round  bar  must  be  set  parallel  with  the  shears, 
in  easy- working  guides.  The  bar  must  have  an 
arm  at  one  end,  to  reach  over  to  the  hub,  said  arm 
to  be  fitted  with  a  piece  of  hard  wood,  to  match 


40  MANUAL    OP   THE   HAND    LATHE. 

the  thread  on  the  hub.  The  other  end  of  the  bar 
has  the  cutting  tool  in  it ;  of  course,  at  right  an- 
gles, so  as  to  run  in  to  the  work,  and  bear  on  the 
tool  rest.  The  tool  is  held  in  an  arm  on  the  bar 
by  a  set  screw,  so  that  it  can  be  lengthened  or 
shortened. 

By  this  arrangement,  a  true  thread  can  be 
rapidly  generated  on  any  rod,  hollow  cylinder,  or 
other  kind  of  work — the  pitch  depending  on  the 
pitch  of  the  hub. 

It  is  necessary  to  have  as  many  different  hubs, 
varying  in  pitch,  as  there  are  different  kinds  of 
work  to  be  done,  and,  although  the  thread  on  the 
hub  is  only  an  inch  or  half  an  inch  long,  perhaps, 
a  screw  of  any  length  may  be  cut  on  a  rod,  by 
simply  shifting  the  cutter  on  the  rest.  This  same 
bar  is  also  useful  for  turning,  as  with  a  slide  rest, 
for,  by  sliding  it  along  gradually,  it  acts,  in  a 
measure,  like  a  fixed  tool  in  a  slide  rest. 

Fig.  20.  From    these    hints  the 

amateur  who  takes  a  lathe 
in  hand  for  the  first  time? 
or  is,  at  best,  a  neophyte, 
may  learn  much  to  his 
advantage.  Persons  of  a 
mechanical  turn  only  need 

a  hint,  when  the  mind  springs  to  the  conclusion 
with  surprising  rapidity. 


CHASERS,    ETC.  41 

The  little  tool,  shown  in  Fig.  20,  is  very  handy 
in  many  instances,  particularly  for  running  under 
the  necks  of  screws  when  the  thread  is  cut  up  to 
the  head.  By  so  making  them,  the  head  comes 
fair  down  upon  its  bed,  and  holds  much  better. 


42  MANUAL   OF  THE   HAND   LATHE. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CHUCKING. 

CHUCKING  work  in  the  lathe  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  branches,  for  here  there  are  no  centers 
in  the  way,  to  plague  the  workman,  and  the  tool 
has  a  fair  sweep  at  all  parts.  Every  one  who  uses  a 
lathe,  should  get  a  scroll  chuck,  Fig.  21,  of  Cush- 
Fior  21. 


man's  make,  (A.  Cushman,  Hartford,  Connecticut,) 
that  is,  a  chuck  where  the  jaws  move  up  together 
toward  the  center,  so  that  any  round  piece  will  be 
held  perfectly  true.  This  is  a  great  convenience, 


CHUCKING.  43 

for  whether  we  have  a  ring  to  bore  out,  or  a 
wheel  to  turn  off,  it  is  equally  handy,  and  is  far 
better  than  the  independent  jaw  chuck,  which  has 
to  be  set  up  by  mea-  Fig.  22. 

surement,  and  repeat- 
ed trials  before  it  is 
right.  To  those  who 
cannot  afford  to  pur- 
chase a  scroll  chuck, 
a  wooden  one  can  be 
made  to  answer  eve- 
ry purpose.  Wooden 
chucks  should  be  made 
of  some  hard,  fine-grained  wood,  such  as  maple  or 
mahogany,  so  that  they  will  hold  well  whatever 
is  driven  into  them. 

Fig.  23.  Fig.  24. 


If  we  have  a  small  cylinder  head  to  turn,  for 
instance,  the  back  head,  which  has  no  hole  in  it 
to  put  a  mandrel  through,  as  the  front  one  has, 


44 


MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 


the  wooden  chuck  will  come  in  play.     To  make 
one,  the  turner  takes  a  square  block  of  the  proper 

Fig.  25. 


thickness,  say  one  inch,  and  saws  the  corners  off, 
so  that  it  is  eight-sided.  It  is  then  ready  to  screw 
on  the  face  plate  of  the  lathe.  This  is  quickly 
done  by  having  small  screw  holes  in  the  plate  for 
this  purpose,  as  shown  in  Fig.  1,  page  17. 

Fig.  26.  The  block  is  then  all  ready 

to  work  on,  and  the  face  must 
be  turned  off  true,  and  a  recess 
cut  out  in  it  to  receive  the  head. 
This  is  the  head,  Fig.  26. 

On  the  back  side,  there  is  a 
projection  to  fit  the  cylinder  of 


the  engine.  This  must  be  turned  first,  and  the 
flange  faced  off  true :  after  that  the  head  must  be 
pryed  out,  (by  making  a  little  recess  in  the  chuck, 


CHUCKING.  45 

alongside  of  it,)  reversed,  and  put  in  the  chuck  again, 
the  finished  side  in,  so  as  to  polish  it  on  the  out- 
side. Fig.  27.  It  must  be  driven  up  tight  against 

Fig.  27. 


the  face  of  the  chuck,  otherwise  the  flange  will  be 
thicker  on  one  side  than  the  other.  In  finishing, 
it  will  be  found  better  to  commence  near  the  cen- 
ter, and  work  out  toward  the  largest  diameter,  for 
it  is  necessary  to  get  under  the  scale,  or  sand,  left 
on  in  casting,  first,  before  the  work  can  be  turned 
true,  and  this  is  easiest  done  by  beginning  at  the 
middle,  where  the  speed  is  low.  The  scale  is 
fused  sand  melted  on  the  metal  in  the  act  of  cast- 
ing. The  best  tool  to  do  this  with  is  the  diamond- 
point,  for  it  can  be  employed  universally  on 
straight  or  hollow  surfaces,  is  easily  ground,  and 
always  works  well.  After  it,  comes  the  scraper, 
previously  shown.  It  these  chatter,  a  piece  of 
leather  must  be  put  between  them  and  the  rest. 
It  is  also  well  to  put  a  stout  iron  rod,  or  piece  of 


46  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

hard  wood,  between  the  back  center  of  the  lathe 
and  the  face  of  the  plate ;  this  keeps  everything 
steady,  as  shown  below,  so  that  a  beautiful  luster 
will  be  given  by  the  tool  alone. 

After  the  plate  or  head  is  firmly  scraped,  it 
must  be  polished  with  flour  emery  and  oil.  The 
emery  first  used  must  be  No.  1,  which  is  about 
like  Indian  meal ;  if  the  work  is  brass,  however, 
this  will  not  be  needed.  This  must  be  plentifully 
supplied  with  oil,  so  that  it  is  like  cream,  and  the 
workman,  taking  a  soft  pine  stick,  with  the  end 
pounded  into  a  brush,  so  that  it  will  hold  emery, 
holds  it  hard  up  against  the  face  of  the  head.  If 
it  has  been  properly  scraped,  a  few  revolutions 
will  produce  a  fine-grained  finish,  but  if  it  is  badly 
done,  the  corners  will  be  full  of  scratches  and 
chatters.  It  takes  time  and  experience  to  make  a 
good  finisher,  and  patience  also,  for  men  who  are 
good  turners,  and  can  make  excellent  fits,  are 
sometimes  botches  at  polishing. 

After  emery  of  the  finest  possible  description 
has  been  used,  a  little  rouge  powder  should  be 
put  on  a  piece  of  buckskin  and  applied  to  the 
work.  This  will  make  a  polish  equal  to  gold  on 
brass,  and  like  silver  on  iron.  Instead  of  these 
methods  many  persons  burnish  their  work.  The 
burnisher  is  sometimes  made  of  steel,  of  blood- 
stone, and  of  agate.  Steel  is  the  material  general- 


CHUCKIXG.  47 

ly  employed.  It  is  polished  as  bright  as  can  be 
on  a  buff  wheel,  and  must  be  preserved  so,  other- 
wise it  is  useless  to  attempt  doing  anything  with 
it.  Pumice  stone  is  very  good  for  polishing  with, 
or  rather  for  finishing  the  surface  before  polishing. 
Other  substances  will  be  mentioned  hereafter. 
Steel  and  iron  are  best  polished  with  a  sharp  tool 
and  water.  To  turn  steel  with  a  handsome  sur- 
face, the  tool  must  be  sharpened  on  an  oil  stone, 
and  the  speed  high,  then  spit  on  the  work  and 
take  light  cuts,  and  you  will  have  a  nice  job.  To 
make  a  very  brilliant  polish  on  steel,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  use  ernery  and  oil,  plenty  of  oil  and  not 
much  emery,  but  this  makes  such  a  nasty  mess  on 
the  lathe,  that  few  good  turners  will  do  it.  A  file 
should  not  be  used  in  the  lathe  if  possible  ;  filing 
a  job  makes  it  uneven,  and  spoils  the  looks  of  it. 
It  is  difficult  to  avoid  scratches,  and  the  expert 
can  generally  tell  the  difference  between  work 
that  has  been  turned  true,  and  that  which  has  been 
filed,  and,  in  nearly  all  cases,  it  is  quicker  to  turn 
the  work  to  fit  or  to  finish  at  once. 

In  polishing  round  work,  such  as  rods  or  shafts, 
it  is  much  cleaner,  and  more  expeditious,  to  make 
a  pair  of  clamps  like  Fig.  28,  and  put  the  emery 
and  oil  on  leather  pads  between  them.  The  clamps 
consist  of  two  straight  pieces  of  soft  or  hard  wood, 
lined  with  leather,  though  some  use  sheet  lead. 


48  MANUAL    OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

The  leather  catches  the  polishing  material  and 
holds  it,  and,  at  the  same  time,  keeps  it  continually 
applied  to  the  shaft.  The  clamps  are  slipped  over 
the  same,  and  the  ends  held  in  the  hand.  This 
utensil  also  gives  a  fine  finish  to  the  work,  making 
it  smooth  and  even.  It  must  be  carried  regularly 
along  from  end  to  end,  sometimes  fast  and  some* 
times  slow,  so  as  to  cross  the  lines,  or  avoid  mak- 
ing a  twist  in  the  polish  like  a  screw  thread, 
which  would  otherwise  be  given.  A  very  beau- 
tiful and  brilliant  luster  can  be  given  to  a  shaft  of 

Fig.  28. 


iron  or  steel,  after  it  is  nicely  finished,  by  hold- 
ing a  sheet  of  fine  sand  paper,  covered  with  chalk, 
on  it.  The  glaze  that  this  gives,  makes  the  work 
glisten  like  silver,  but  it  also  takes  off'  all  the 
grease,  so  that  the  shaft  is  very  sensitive  to 
moisture,  and  is  quickly  rusted. 

This  discussion  about  polishing  has  led  us 
away  from  the  consideration  of  chucking,  which 
we  shall  enlarge  a  little  more  upon. 


CHUCKING.  49 

The  chuck  is  a  very  necessary  and  even  indis- 
pensable auxiliary  when  chasing.  Threads  can- 
not be  caught  in  the  jaws  of  a  scroll  chuck,  be- 
cause, if  set  tight  enough  to  hold  the  work,  the 
threads  are  jammed  so  that  they  will  not  run  in 
the  part  they  were  fitted  to.  If  a  piece,  having  a 
thread  cut  on  it,  like  Fig.  29,  is  to  be  turned  out- 
side, it  is  very  easy  to  chase  the  -pig.  29. 
cap  first  and  then  the  cup  it  fits, 
so  that  the  cap  can  be  screwed 
into  it  and  turned  off  where  it 
belongs;  it  will  then  be  true} 
and  is  easy  to  mill  on  the  edge. 

It   must  always  be  borne   in 
mind  that  the  chaser  must  be  sharp.      If  it  is  not, 
drunken  threads  will  be  the  rule,  not  the  excep- 
tion. 

The  chuck  shown  in  Fig.  30,  will  be  found 
very  useful  for  holding  metallic  disks,  small 
box  covers,  or  anything  that  requires  merely  a 
slight  clasp ;  it  is  also  useful  for  holding  round 
plugs,  pencils  of  wood,  or  penholders,  to  drill  in 
the  ends.  It  can  be  made  eccentric  with  the 
mandrel  of  the  lathe,  if  desired,  so  as  to  turn  a 
piece  on  one  side,  or  drill  in  a  similar  manner  in 
the  end  of  a  plug.  It  is  merely  a  piece  of  box- 
wood bored  out,  bored  with  holes,  which  are 
sawed  down  into  slots,  so  as  to  form  a  series  of 
5 


50  MANUAL    OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

jaws,  which  are  sprung  in  by  sliding  the  ring 
Fig.  30. 


down  on  them.     They  are  so  easily  made  that  a 
great  many  can  be  provided. 


METAL    SPINNING.  51 


CHAPTER  VI. 

METAL     SPINNING. 

SPINNING  sheet  metal  into  various  forms  is 
another  kind  of  work  which  can  be  done  in  the 
foot  lathe,  and  it  is  here  that  the  amateur  can 
show  his  taste  and  dexterity. 

The  process  consists  in  forming  a  blank,  like 
this  engraving,  into  an  ornamen-  Fig.  31. 
tal  base  for  a  lamp,  or  an  oil  cup ; 
in  fact,  any  thing  whatsoever. 
All  that  is  requisite  is  to  have  a 
fac  simile,  in  wood,  of  the  shape 
you  wish  to  make.  This  is  bolt- 
ed or  otherwise  made  fast  to  the 
face  plate,  and  the  blank  is  then  set  up  against  it; 
and  held  as  the  cylinder  head,  shown  in  Fig.  26, 
is ,  that  is,  with  a  rod  leading  from  the  back  cen- 
ter of  the  lathe  to  the  work. 

A  tool  like  Fig.  32  is  then  used  to  press  the 
metal  into  all  the  recesses  or  curves  of  the  pat- 
tern. The  speed  must  be  high,  arid  the  metal 
quite  soft  and  moistened  with  a  little  soap-suds  or 
oil,  so  that  it  will  not  be  scratched  by  the  tool. 


52  MANUAL    OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

To  spin  metal  requires  some  dexterity,  but  it  is 
easily  acquired  after  a  little  practice.     The  rest 
must  be  furnished  with  holes,  like  Fig.  33,  and  a 
Fig.  32.  Fig.  33. 


pin,  so  that  the  tool  can  be  brought  up  against  it 
like  a  lever. 

Still  another  kind  of  metal  spinning  can   be 
done  in  the  lathe.     This  relates  to  making  circu- 
lar shapes,  or  cylindrical,  more  properly— such  as 
napkin  rings,  the  tops  of  steam  pipes,  or  similar 
Fig.  34. 


things.  To  do  this,  a  mandrel  is  requisite.  The 
mandrel  must  be  of  steel,  and  turned  to  the  de- 
sired pattern — like  Fig.  34,  for  instance. 

A  ferrule  is  then  made  and  soldered  together 


METAL   SPINNING.  53 

with  lapped  edges,  so  that  there  will  be  no  seam. 
The  mandrel  must  be  as  much  smaller  than  the 
size  of  the  finished  work  as  will  allow  it  to  come 
off  freely,  for  it  will  be  apparent  that  if  the  work 
was  spun  up  on  the  mandrel,  it  could  never  be 
taken  off..  The  ferrule,  when  put  on  them,  will 
stand  eccentric  to  the  mandrel,  as  -gig.  35. 
in  this  figure — that  is,  when  the 
tool  bears  on  it.  In  other  re- 
spects the  process  is  just  the 
same  as  spinning  on  the  face 
plate.  Tripoli,  chalk,  whiting, 
rotten-stone,  and  similar  sub- 
stances are  used  to  give  the  fine  polish  on  such 
work. 

We  know  of  no  prettier  or  more  expeditious 
process  of  making  a  small  steam  boiler  for  a  toy 
engine,  than  by  spinning  it  upon  the  lathe.  The 
boiler  will  be  very  strong,  have  large  fire  surface, 
and  be  without  joints,  having  only  one  at  the  bot- 
tom, where  it  is  easily  kept  tight.  Fig.  36  is  the 
boiler. 

The  metal  must  be  thin  (twenty  gauge),  the 
sheet  brass  sold  in  the  shops  will  answer,  as  it  is 
already  annealed,  and  the  corrugations  must  not 
be  too  deep  on  the  sides,  or  the  work  will  not 
come  off  the  mould.  The  center  of  the  fire-box,, 
A,  must  be  loft  flat,  so  that  the  flue  will  have  a 
5* 


5i  MANUAL   OF   THE    HAND   LATHE. 

bearing  on  it.  For  a  small  engine,  1-inch  bore, 
and  2-inch  stroke,  a  boiler  of  the  dimensions 
given  here  is  ample.  The  flue  must  be  brazed  or 
soldered  at  A,  and  the  bottom  must  be  riveted  at 
B,  for  every  two  inches;  this  is  not  necessary, 
however.  There  are  only  three  pieces  in  this 
boiler — the  shell,  the  fire-box,  and  the  flue,  and 
the  water  must  not  be  carried  more  than  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  over  the  crown  of  the  furnace. 
We  shall  now  again  revert  to  cutting  tools. 

Fig.  36. 


Probably  many  of  our  readers,  who  use  hand 
lathes  not  furnished  with  slide  rests,  have  wished 
for  that  indispensable  appendage  where  boring  is 
to  be  done.  For  ordinary  turning,  we  do  not  ap- 
preciate a  slide  rest  on  a  hand  lathe  so  much  as 


METAL   SPINNING.  55 

many  do  that  we  know,  but  for  boring  out  valves, 
cocks,  or,  in  fact,  anything,  a  scroll  chuck  and  a 
good  slide  rest  are  invaluable. 

Some  persons  are  always  "  meaning  "  to  do  a 
thing,  yet  never  do  it.  Sometimes,  for  the  want 
of  facilities,  at  others  for  the  lack  of  an  idea.  If 
the  latter  be  of  any  value,  we  can  furnish  one  or 
two  on  this  subject  that  may  be  useful. 

One  way  to  bore  out  holes  parallel,  without  a 
slide  rest,  is  to  do  it  with  the  spindle  of  the  back 
head.  With  a  tool  of  peculiar  construction,  holes 
varying  in  size,  can  be  bored  beautifully  in  this 
way.  We  present  a  view  of  such  a  tool  in  Fig. 
Fig.  37. 


37.  It  is  merely  a  cross,  formed  on  the  end  of  a 
center  fitting  the  back  spindle,  the  same  as  the 
lathe  center  does.  The  arms  of  the  cross  are 
made  stout  and  thick,  so  as  to  admit  of  a  square 
hole  being  cut  in  them.  The  hole  is  made  by 


56 


MANUAL    OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 


drilling  in  and  driving  in  a  square  drift  afterwards 
to  take  off  the  corners.  The  shanks  of  the  tools 
are  well  fitted  to  these  holes  in  the  arms,  so  that 
a  slight  pressure  of  the  screws  in  the  sides  of  the 
arm  will  hold  them  steady.  When  used,  the  tool 
is  put  in  the  back  spindle,  and  the  cutters  set  to 
the  size  required,  or  less,  if  there  is  much  to  take 
out,  and  run  through  the  work  in  an  obvious  man- 
ner. Any  range  of  size  can  be  had  up  to  the  di- 
ameter of  the  cross.  It  is  not  well  to  run  the 
cutters  out  too  far,  however,  as  they  will  jump  and 
chatter,  or  spring,  and  make  bad  work.  The  tool 

Fig.  38. 


is  so  easily  made  that  one  can  afford  to  have  three 
or  four,  for  different  jobs. 

Another  plan,  but  not  so  good,  is  to  make  a 
common  center  and  disk,  like  Fig.  38. 


METAL  SPINNING.  57 

Here  the  cutters  have  a  slot  in  them,  through 
which  a  bolt  passes  and  screws  into  the  disk ;  a 
small  piece  of  wood  put  at  the  bottom  of  the  tool, 
between  it  and  the  cutter,  prevents  it  from  slack- 
ing off  so  as  to  diminish  the  cut.  These  tools  will 
be  found  useful,  and  will  do  good  work  if  proper- 
ly handled.  This  latter  tool  is  better  for  wood, 
but  will  answer  for  any  metal  by  varying  the 
cuttter. 

To  make  a  slide  rest,  in  the  common  way,  is  a 
costly  and  tedious  job.  For  all  purposes  ol  boring, 
a  good  one  may  be  made  as  shown  in  the  following 
engraving,  Fig.  39. 

Fig.  39. 


This  is  simply  a  casting  fitted  with  a  screw  and 
spindle,  as  shown.  The  spindle  has  a  tool  let  in 
the  front  end  and  held  there  by  a  set  screw,  and 
there  is  a  wheel  at  the  back  end  to  run  the  spin- 
dle in  and  out.  The  casting  has  a  leg  to  it  which 


58      MANUAL  OF  THE  HAND  LATHE. 

enables  it  to  fit  the  common  post  the  rest  for  the 
hand  tool  fits.  There  is  also  a  key  to  prevent  the 
spindle  from  turning  round.  By  this  arrange- 
ment it  is  easy  to  bore,  not  only  parallel  holes  of 
any  size,  but  tapering  ones,  which  is  often  a 
great  convenience.  By  a  simple  change  of  tool, 
it  can  also  face  off  any  casting,  and  can  easily  be 
made  to  cut  a  thread,  of  a  given  pitch,  by  any  in- 
genious workman.  Not  only  this,  but  it  can  also 
be  made  without  planing ;  or  other  work  most 
amateurs  have  no  facilities  for.  It  is  within  the 
range  of  ordinary  lathe  work,  and  will  be  found 
indispensable.  The  T-head  may  be  of  cast  iron, 
but  the  spindle  should  be  steel,  with  a  brass  nut 
let  in  the  back  end  for  the  screw  to  work  in. 


ORNAMENTAL   CUTTING.  59 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ORNAMENTAL   CUTTING. 

I  SHALL  now  give  some  examples  of  turning  dif- 
ferent things  which  are  useful  and  interesting  to 
work.  These  are  only  hints,  and  I  make  no  claim 
to  discovery,  or  to  anything  specially  novel  or 
ingenious.  It  would  be  very  foolish  to  do  that, 
for  what  seems  remarkably  "  cute "  to  the  de- 
signer of  any  particular  thing,  is  often  shown  to 
be  slow  and  unmechanical,  compared  to  other 
ways  by  other  men.  I  hope,  therefore,  that  the 
expert  will  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that,  while  he 
may  know  better  ways  to  do  the  same  thing,  be- 
ginners are  glad  to  receive  instruction  first,  and 
improve  upon  it,  so  much  as  they  are  able,  after. 

TO  MAKE  A  PAIR  OF  SOLITAIRE  SLEEVE  BUTTONS. 

— Solitaire  buttons  are  those  which  have  so  lately 
come  in  fashion ;  that  is,  a  single  stud  with  two 
eyes  on  the  back  for  the  button-holes  of  the 
wristband.  It  is  easier  to  make  one  stud  on  the 
back  of  the  button,  and  easier  to  fasten  it  to  the 
shirt,  as  that  is  the  kind  I  shall  describe. 

Go  to  any   dealer  in  box- wood,    and  procure 


60  MANUAL   OF   THE  HAND  LATHE. 

waste  stuff,  which  he  will  sell  at  a  small  price. 
Take  a  piece  an  inch  square,  put  it  in  the  chuck, 
and  turn  it  round  on  one  end  as  far  as  you  can, 
then  reverse  it,  and  turn  the  other  end  ;  this  will 
make  a  round  plug.  Take  a  ten-cent  piece,  and 

Tig.  40.  Fig.  41. 


chuck  it,  either  in  a  wooden  or  scroll  chuck.  Cut 
out  the  center,  so  that  you  have  a  silver  ring.  It 
will  be  necessary  to  have  two  rings,  one  for  each 
button.  Put  the  box-wood  in  the  lathe  and  turn 
the  end  as  in  Fig.  41.  On  the  shoulder  you  are  to 
shrink  the  silver  ring  just  made,  Fig.  40.  To 
Fig.  42.  fasten  the  ring  properly,  you 
have  only  to  leave  the  center 
part  of  the  box-wood  a  little 
larger  than  the  silver  ring — say 
the  thickness  of  a  sheet  of  paper 
— heat  the  ring  slightly  on  a 
stove  or  over  a  spirit  lamp,  and 
clap  it  on  to  its  place.  When  it  is  cool,  if  proper- 
ly done,  no  power  can  remove  it  without  destroy- 
ing the  button.  When  the  ring  is  in  place,  it 


ORNAMENTAL   CUTTING.  61 

only  remains  to  turn  it  off  as  ornamentally  as  the 

workman  desires.     The  edge  may  be  milled,  and 

Fig.  43. 


the  face  chased  or  left  smooth.     The  center  of  the 
button,  which  is  of  wood,  may  be  drilled  in,  and 
6 


62  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

a  square  ebony  plug  put  in,  which  will  give  it  a 
unique  appearance,  as  shown  in  Fig.  42.  In  like 
manner  ivory  buttons  may  be  turned  and  breast- 
pins spun  up,  either  in  gold  or  silver.  Brass 
breastpins  may  be  ornately  turned,  and  afterwards 
electro-plated  for  a  trifle.  They  will  thus  be 
cheaply  made,  and  the  ingenious  turner  can  please 
his  lady  friends  by  presenting  them  with  speci- 
mens of  his  dexterity  and  taste. 

At  the  commencement  of  this  book,  I  alluded 
to  lathes  with  traversing  mandrels,  and  to  varieties 
of  work  done  by  tools  not  generally  employed — 
that  is,  those  which  are  not  used  by  the  hand,  but 
in  connection  with  the  lathe,  and  driven  by  belt- 
ing from  a  counter  shaft  over  head.  I  give  an 
illustration  of  such  a  tool,  in  one  form,  in  Fig.  43, 
It  may  be  screwed  in  the  tool  post  of  the  slide 
Fig.  44.  rest,  or  otherwise  at- 

tached to  the  lathe, 
and  the  belt  from 
the  counter  shaft 
carried  over  the 
small  pulley.  The 
driving  pulley  over 
head  should  be  very  large,  so  as  to  give  a  great 
velocity  to  the  cutter,  at  least  fifteen  hundred 
revolutions  per  minute.  The  use  of  this  tool  is  to 
make  ornamental  designs — circular  carving,  it 


ORNAMENTAL    CUTTING.  63 

might  be  called — on  all  kinds  of  turned  work,  as, 
for  instance,  in  Fig.  44,  where  a  small  box  for 
pins  or  needles  is  shown.  This  box  is  made  by 
putting  a  piece  of  hard,  fine-grained  wood  in  the 
chuck,  boring  the  hole  and  cutting  the  thread.  It 
is  then  removed,  driven  on  a  round  mandrel  held 
in  the  chuck,  turned  off  round  outside,  and  then 
prepared  for  the  pattern  as  follows : — The  design 
settled  upon,  the  index  plate  must  be  brought  into 
use,  and  the  points  inserted  in  such  holes  as  will 
bring  the  pattern  out  right,  or  all  the  spaces  equal 
— just  as  the  teeth  of  gears  are  cut.  The  tool 
shown  in  Fig.  43,  may  be  any  desired  shape.  In 
the  example  of  work,  Fig.  44,  it  is  made  half 
round,  and  the  pattern  is  called  "  bamboo,"  from 
a  resemblance  to  wickerwork.  The  pattern  is 
made  to  break  joint,  as  mechanics  say,  that  is,  it 
alternates,  so  that  the  commencement  of  one  part 
meets  in  the  middle  of  the  other.  After  one 
course  is  made  all  the  way  round,  the  tool  is 
shifted  on  to  another  course,  and  the  index 
changed  as  above  mentioned,  until  the  whole  has 
been  gone  over.  This  produces  a  beautiful  effect. 
It  is  easy  to  see  that  a  change  of  pattern  is  pro- 
duced at  will,  by  altering  the  kind  of  tool  and 
the  index.  As,  for  instance,  in  Fig.  45,  where 
the  pattern  is  entirely  straight.  When  the  de- 
sign is  to  be  cut  on  such  work,  it  is  extremely 
convenient  to  have  a  pair  of  centers  to  set  on  the 


64  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

lathe,  across  the  bed;  then  the  flying  tool  is  not 
needed,  nor  the  index  on  the  lathe  pulleys  either, 
that  on  the  centers  being  used  instead.  When 
this  box  is  held  between  the  centers  so  as  not  to 
mar  it,  the  handle  may  be  turned  and  the  work 
run  along  under  the  cutter,  with  great  facility- 
The  grooves  shown  in  the  box  are  first  drilled  at 
each  end  with  a  common  drill,  just  to  the  corner 
of  the  drill,  so  that  a  neat  and  handsome  finish  is 
given ;  a  Y-shaped  cutter  is  then  put  in  a  mandrel 

Fig.  45. 


between  the  centers  of  the  lathe,  and  the  pulleys 
set  going,  so  that  when  the  work  is  run  under 
the  tool,  the  slot  or  groove  will  be  formed.  The 
circlet,  at  the  top  of  the  box,  is  made  by  a  crescent 
drill  ground  very  thin  and  made  sharp — a  drill 
like  a  fish's  tail,  only  formed  on  a  half  circle. 

Of  course,  these  methods  of  doing  this  kind  of  work 
can,  as  I  h#ve  said  before,  be  varied  infinitely,  and 
are  only  cited  as  applicable  to  a  common  foot  lathe. 


CENTERS.  65 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CENTERS. 

AN  indispensable  article  on  a  foot  latbe,  where 
any  fancy  work  is  to  be  done,  is  tbe  centers — of 
which  I  have  before  spoken — shown  in  Fig.  46. 
These  consist  of  a  common  set  of  heads,  with 
spindles  fitted  to  them.  One  spindle  has  an  index 
plate  and  spring,  and  the  other  has  a  common 
center.  These  heads  set  on  a  slide  that  is  moved 
back  and  forth  over  a  rest,  screwed  to  the  lathe 
bed  as  usual.  It  is  easy  to  see  that,  with  this,  we 
can  do  some  very  fine  cabinet  work.  Suppose  we 
have  a  round  vase  turned  up  handsomely,  and 
wish  to  flute  the  base  or  make  it  a  series  of  curves 
all  round ;  to  do  this,  we  have  only  to  put  it  in 
the  centers,  set  the  index  so  as  to  come  out  even, 
as  before  explained,  and  go  ahead. 

The  kind  of  cutter  to  be  used  is  a  sort  of  gouge, 
set  in  a  cast-iron  head,  something  as  a  plane  iron 
is  set  in  its  stock.  That  is,  fitted  tight  to  a  groove 
and  held  by  a  set  screw.  Two  of  these  cutters 
should  be  used,  at  equal  distances  apart,  and  the 
cutter  head  should  be  keyed  on  a  short  shaft,  set 
6* 


66 


MANUAL    OF   THE    HAND   LATHE. 


between   the   main   centers   of    the   lathe.     The 
Fig.  46. 


whole  should  be  accurately  balanced,  or  else  the 
work  will  be  full  of  chatters  or  ridges.  Since 
centrifugal  force  increases  as  the  square  of  the 


CENTERS.  67 

velocity,  any  thing  that  runs  a  little  out  of  truth, 
will  be  very  much  exaggerated  as  the  speed  in- 
creases. By  using  cutters  of  different  shapes, 
beautiful  effects  can  be  produced  ;  as,  for  instance, 
suppose  we  take  a  common  round-nose  cutter,  set 
the  index  so  as  to  divide  the  circle  of  the  job  we 
are  to  work  on  in  twenty-four  parts,  and  execute 

Fig.  47. 


that  part  of  the  design,  then  take  a  tool  forming 
an  ogee,  and  work  out  the  spaces  intervening,  we 
shall  find  that  the  article,  when  completed,  will 
have  a  beautiful  appearance,  and  that,  instead  of 
being  round,  the  bottom  will  be  octagonal,  which 
will  present  a  pleasing  contrast  to  the  rest. 

The  centers  can  be  set  at  any  angle  with  the 
cutter  shaft  and  a  pineapple  pattern  can  be  made 


68  MANUAL    OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

on  straight  surfaces,  by  executing  one  part  at  one 
angle,  then  reversing  the  rest  that  carries  the 
centers,  and  finish  the  remainder,  one  part  of  the 
pattern  crossing  the  other. 

I  present  here  views  of  a  novel  ornament  which 
exhibits  great  mechanical  ingenuity  and  manual 
dexterity,  but  is  otherwise  of  no  value.  It  con- 
sists, in  one  form,  of  a  globe  with  a  series  of  rings 
or  globes  inside,  and  a  six-armed  spur  projecting 
through  holes — all  cut  out  of  one  solid  piece.  Fig. 
47 

Fig.  48. 


Fig.  48  shows  how  the  points  are  turned.  After 
the  internal  rings  are  cut  out  with  a  quadrant  tool 
like  Fig.  49,  and  the  spur  also  severed,  by  cutting 
in  the  ends  o*  the  holes  (not  boring  them  out 


CENTERS.  69 

solid),  th    globe  is  put  in   a  shell  chuck,    with 

three  set  screws  in  it,  as  shown.     The  set  screws 

go  through  the  holes  in  the  globe,  and  the  cross 

Fig.  49 


pieces,  in  between  the  spurs,  serve  to  steady  the 

job.     Any  number  of  points  may  be  turned  in. 

the  globe.     Fig.  50  shows  a  polygon  with  many 

Fig.  50. 


spurs  turned  inside.  At  first  sight  it  would  ap- 
pear that  the  tool,  severing  the  rings,  would  cut 
off  the  points  also,  but  it  will  be  seen  that  this  is 
not  the  case,  for  the  holes  being  bored  so  as  to 


70  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND     LATHE. 

leave  a  core  standing  (which  afterward  serves  to 
make  the  points  of  the  spur),  the  severing  tool 
falls  into  the  holes  and  goes  no  further,  and  each 
division  serves  as  a  guide  for  the  tool  in  the  next 
hole,  so  that  the  globe  is  made  the  same  size, 
without  jags.  The  quadrant  tool,  shown  before, 
must  be  followed  round  the  shell  in  the  act  of 
cutting  it  out,  so  that  it  will  make  the  same  round, 
and  the  globe  must  be  shifted  in  the  chuck,  to 
reach  all  the  holes.  It  is  no  easy  task  to  make 
this  little  affair,  for  all  it  looks  so  simple. 


FANCY   TURNING. 


71 


UNIVERSITY  j 


CHAPTER    IX. 

FANCY    TURNING. 

FIG.  51  is  another,  a  little  more  ornate  and  of  a 

different  pattern.     The  process  is  essentially  the 

same,  except  that  there  are  no  spurs  and  a  solid 

disk  is  left  inside.     This  disk  is  turned  out  of  a 

Fig,  51. 


ball,  left  inside  the  exterior  shell.  One  side  of  it 
is  squared  up  before  the  ball  is  cut  free  from  the 
globe,  and  the  job  is  then  reversed  and  the  other 
side  squared.  The  ball  is  then  cut  free,  and  the 


72      MANUAL  OP  THE  HAND  LATHE. 

loose  disk  is  held  fast  between  a  flat-ended  driver 
in  the  live  spindle,  and  a  loose,  flat-ended  button 
on  the  back  center.    The  diameter  is  then  decided 
through  the  hole  which  is  toward  the  reader. 
A  little  tool,  which  is  very  convenient  for  mak- 
Fig.  52. 


ing  small  screws,  is  here  shown  in  Fig  52,  rather 
out  of  place,  but  it  was  overlooked  before.  In 
construction  it  explains  itself.  Holes  of  different 
sizes  are  made  in  a  steel  rod,  and  the  end  filed  into 
shape,  as  seen.  It  has  been  found  difficult  by 
some  to  make  these  cutters  work,  but  that  was 
because  they  were  not  properly  made.  The 
trouble  lies  in  drilling  the  hole.  "When  the  drill 
starts  at  first,  the  hole  is  larger  on  the  outside,  so 
that  the  screw  blank,  when  cut,  gets  tighter  as  it 
goes  in,  and  twists  it  off. 

The  remedy  is,  to  drill  the  hole  in  some  dis- 
tance and  then  turn  off  the  outside  end,  so  that  it 
gets  where  the  bore  is  the  same  size.  This  refers 


FANCY    TURNING.  73 

only  to  small  bolts,  a  sixteenth  of  an  inch  in  dia- 
meter; where  they  are  large,  the  trouble  men- 
tioned is  not  experienced. 

It  is  convenient  to  have  two  sizes  in  the  tool  so 
that  the  heaviest  part  of  the  work  can  be  done  by 
one  cutter,  the  tool  reversed  by  turning  it  over  in 
the  fork  of  the  jaws,  and  finishing  the  blank  with 
the  last  cutter.  A  watchmaker's  fine  saw  is  to  be 
used  to  sever  the  screw  from  the  rod.  The  tool 
itself  is  to  fit  in  the  spindle  of  the  tail  stock,  and 
the  screw  wire  is  held  by  a  drill  chuck. 

In  the  matter  of  ornamental  work,  there  are 
other  details  and  plans  in  vogue  among  expe- 
rienced turners,  which  can  only  be  alluded  to,  not 
discussed  at  length,  for  the  reason  that  the  styles 
are  so  numerous  that  an  elaborate  work  might  be 
made  of  them  alone,  with  great  profit.  The  scroll 
chuck  or  geometrical  chuck,  as  it  is  sometimes 
called,  is  a  complicated  piece  of  mechanism,  too 
costly  for  general  use,  and  too  limited  in  its  ap- 
plication, to  mechanics  in  general,  to  be  of  much 
utility.  It  does  such  work  as  may  be  seen  on 
bank  bills.  The  chuck  plate,  on  which  the  work 
is  fixed,  is  connected,  by  a  train  of  gearing  on  its 
back,  with  a  fixed  gear  about  the  spindle  on  the 
head  stock,  so  that  when  the  relation  these  gears 
bear  to  one  another  is  altered,  the  motion  of  the 
work  on  the  chuck  is  accelerated  or  retarded,  or 
7 


74  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

is  made  to  assume  certain  positions.  An  elliptic 
chuck  is  quite  another  thing,  the  work  done  by 
it  is  shown  in  Fig.  53,  which  consists,  chiefly,  of 
ornamental  designs  disposed  in  a  certain  order. 
In  fact,  the  changes  that  can  be  made  are  infinite. 
Fig.  53.  Mandrels — arbors,  as 

many  call  them — are  very 
useful  tools.  Mandrels 
are  made  of  wood  and 
steel — usually  steel,  and 
never  of  wood,  unless  for 
some  special  reason.  As, 
for  instance,  when  a 
large  brass  ring  has  to  be 
turned.  For  this  use  a 
wooden  mandrel  is  cheaper  and  more  quickly 
•made  than  a  steel  one.  Besides,  it  is  quite  as 
good.  Wooden  mandrels  should  have  iron  cen- 
ter plates  let  in  them,  so  that  they  will  run  true  ; 
if  the  center  was  made  in  the  wood  itself,  it  would 
be  liable  to  run  out.  Take  a  piece  of  sheet  iron, 
one  eighth  of  an  inch  thick  and  one  inch  square, 
hammer  the  corners  thin,  then  turn  them  over  at 
right  angles  with  the  plate.  This  gives  four 
sharp  cori:e;*s,  so  that,  when  driven  in  the  end  of 
a  block,  it  will  not  slip ;  three  small  screws  will 
hold  the  plate  to  the  mandrel  so  that  it  cannot  get 
loose.  The  center  must  then  be  countersunk,  as 


FANCY    TURNING.  75 

any  other  is.  Such  a  mandrel,  made  of  hard 
wood,  hickory  for  instance,  will  last  a  long  time. 

Fibrous  wood  such  as  white  oak,  makes  a  good 
mandrel,  for  the  reason  that  work,  driven  on  it, 
compresses  the  fibers  instead  of  scraping  them,  so 
that  the  size  of  the  mandrel  is  unchanged, 

Steel  mandrels  should  be  turned  two  in  one,  or 
largest  in  the  middle,  for  small  work,  each  end 
being  a  different  size.  Each  end  should  be  tho- 
roughly centered  with  a  drill,  and  countersunk, 
and  a  flat  place  filed  so  that  the  dog  will  hold ; 
not  a  scratch  with  a  tool  should  ever  be  made  in 
one,  though  few  persons  will  take  the  pains  to 
avoid  doing  this. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  tell  the  mechanic  he  must 
have  a  rack  for  his  tools,  but  we  may  tell  the  be- 
ginner so,  and  he  will  find  it  a  great  convenience. 

Now-a-days,  the  twist  drills,  made  and  sold  in 
all  the  tool  stores,  are  so  uniformly  superior  to 
any  thing  that  can  be  made  by  hand,  or  by  indi- 
viduals, and  are,  moreover,  so  cheap,  that  it  is 
foolish  to  make  drills.  Those  who  have  never 
used  them,  should  not  fail  to  order  sets.  They 
run  all  sizes,  from  a  needle  to  an  inch. 

There  are  not  a  few  turners  who  spoil  work 
simply  from  heedlessness.  Not  because  they  do 
not  know  any  better,  but  because  they  are  averse 
to  taking  a  little  extra  pains.  If  a  mandrel  runs 


76      MANUAL  OF  THE  HAND  LATHE. 

out  of  truth  a  very  little,  sooner  than  alter  it,  or 
make  a  new  one,  they  will  try  to  "  make  it  do.'1 
The  result  is  easily  seen  when  work  is  to  be  put 
together.  Moreover,  many  persons  use  little  cau- 
tion in  setting  their  work  in  the  lathe.  Instead 
of  always  putting  it  in  the  same  place,  driving  it 
from  the  same  side  of  the  face  plate,  it  is  entered 
at  hap-hazard.  It  is  not  good  to  get  into  the  habit 
of  doing  work  in  this  way,  for  it  soon  leads  to 
recklessness. 

Some  are  too  lazy  to  go  and  grind  their  tools, 
when  they  know  it  should  be  done,  and  continue 
to  use  them  to  the  ultimate  damage  of  the  work. 
It  is  easy  for  the  practiced  eye  to  see  these  appa- 
rently small  things,  for  they  constitute  a  great  part 
of  the  difference  between  a  good  workman  and  a 
bad  one. 


ORNAMENTAL    WOODS.  77 


CHAPTER  X. 

ORNAMENTAL  WOODS. 

IN  the  matter  of  wood  working,  the  amateur 
has  a  field  as  wide  and  attractive  as  the  most  en- 
thusiastic could  wish.  Of  course,  under  this  head 
only  those  that  are  ornamental  are  considered, 
leaving  the  plainer  and  rougher  materials  for  do- 
mestic purposes. 

VARIETIES. 

Most  amateurs  ransack  the  stores  of  dealers  in 
foreign  woods,  for  rich  and  rare  varieties,  leaving 
our  own  native  woods  for  others,  of  deeper  hue 
and  harder  grain.  Yet  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  more  beautifully  veined  wood  than  chestnut, 
butternut,  some  varieties  of  ash,  the  root  of  the 
black  walnut,  California  rosewood,  and  oak ;  all 
of  which  are  indigenous. 

In  foreign  woods  there  are  innumerable  varie- 
ties, but  as  comparatively  few  of  them  are  to  be 
had,  there  can  be  nothing  gained  to  the  amateur 
by  mere  enumeration.  I  have  said  comparatively 
few  are  to  be  had  in  shops,  and  that  is  true  for 
7* 


78  MANUAL    OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

this  reason;  the  woods  the  amateur  can  readily 
obtain,  are  the  woods  of  commerce ;  that  is,  those 
used  in  the  arts  and  trades.  No  one  imports 
woods  at  a  venture,  or  on  chance  of  sale.  Dealers 
know  their  customers,  and  when,  by  chance,  they 
find  a  captain  of  some  foreign  trader,  who  has  a 
fancy  lot  which  he  has  brought  over,  they  send 
word  to  their  best  buyers,  who  come  and  view 
the  lot,  and  take  that  which  suits  them,  and  the 
rest,  worm-eaten  and  "  wind-shaken,"  it  may  be, 
is  either  burnt  up,  or  thrown  on  one  side  for  some 
button  maker,  who  may  find  in  the  short  odds 
and  ends  a  profitable  bargain.  I  shall,  therefore, 
mention  but  a  few  of  the  leading  varieties  of 
choice  woods,  and  these  the  most  marked  and 
contrasted.  Very  many  differ  only  in  the  name, 
and,  as  far  as  mere  exterior  goes,  are  hardly  dis- 
tinguishable from  each  other,  while  others  are 
positively  ugly. 

SNAKE   WOOD. 

Prominent  on  the  list  of  foreign  woods  is  snake 
wood,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  leopard  wood. 
The  markings  and  mottlings  in  this  wood  are 
certainly  superb  in  fine  specimens.  I  have  now 
before  me  a  small  vase,  made  of  this  material, 
which  exhibits  the  most  beautiful  cloudings  and 
veinings.  The  pattern,  so  to  speak,  is  in  alternate 


OENAMENTAL    WOODS.  79 

black  and  red  blotches,  like  those  on  the  back  of  a 
snake.  When  varnished  and  French  polished, 
these  are  brought  out  in  strong  relief,  and  the 
effect  is  very  fine.  There  is  one  drawback  to  its 
use,  however,  and  that  is  its  brittleness.  Not- 
withstanding the  lathe  be  run  at  a  high  speed,  it 
will  frequently  sliver  and  crack  in  the  most  un- 
looked-for and  vexatious  manner,  and  it  is  unsafe 
to  undertake  any  very  delicate  or  fine  work  that 
requires  time  and  minute  separation  on  the  sur- 
face in  this  material ;  for  general  work,  however, 
which  has  mouldings  and  convolutions  on  it,  it  is 
easily  manipulated,  and  is  susceptible  of  a  brilliant 
polish.  Further:  it  has  the  advantage  of  being 
"  fast  colors,"  which  is  more  than  can  be  said 
of  many  other  foreign  woods.  Whatever  color 
may  be  developed  in  turning,  will  be  retained  to 
the  end  of  time.  This  is  not  true  of  either  tulip 
or  granadilla  wood.  Both  of  these  are  brilliant 
in  the  extreme,  when  freshly  cut,  but  by  exposure 
to  the  air,  fade  away  into  the  most  sombre  colors. 

TULIF    WOOD. 

This  is  a  moderately  hard  wood,  of  a  peculiar  sal- 
mon-pink, veined  with  reddish  brown  and  gray. 
The  veinings  are  chiefly  parallel  with  the  grain, 
not  straight,  of  course,  but  wavy  and  mottled. 
As  previously  remarked,  it  is  beautiful  when  first 


80  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

cut;  but  gradually  fades  into  a  dingy,  reddish 
brown.  It  is  a  handsome  wood  for  contrasting 
with  ebony,  or  any  dark  variety,  and  is  chiefly 
used  for  inlaying  costly  furniture,  such  as  musical 
instruments,  work  boxes,  etc.,  etc.  It  is  undeni- 
ably handsome,  however,  and  by  no  means  to  be 
disparaged. 

GRANADILLA. 

This  is  commonly  called  cocoa  wood.  It  is 
hard,  finely-veined,  and  capable  of  a  handsome 
polish.  It  is  largely  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
table  and  pocket  cutlery,  for  the  handles.  It 
comes  in  logs,  from  two  to  eight  inches  in  dia- 
meter, and  is  one  of  the  most  easily  worked 
woods.  Quantities  of  it  are  employed  for  the 
handles  of  seals  or  letter  stamps,  in  which  instru- 
ments its  brownish  yellow  color  and  markings 
must  be  familiar  to  many.  It  fades,  however,  so 
that  in  time  it  becomes  almost  uniform  in  its  tone. 

TAMARIND. 

This  wood  is  very  unfrequently  met  with.  I 
obtained,  by  chance,  a  large  log  of  a  wood- worker, 
and  was  highly  pleased  with  it.  It  can  scarcely 
be  called  variegated,  except  so  finely  as  to  be  un- 
noticeable,  but  for  a  rich  brown  color  and  tint  it 
is  unapproachable.  It  is  chocolate  brown  in  hue, 


ORNAMENTAL    WOODS.  81 

and  so  hard  and  close  in  fibre,  as  to  rive  like  the 
husk  of  a  cocoanut,  while  under  a  burnisher  alone 
it  polishes  like  ivory.  It  is  seldom  one  meets 
with  a  wood  so  wholly  satisfactory,  in  its  general 
nature,  for  all  kinds  of  work  where  a  hard  grain 
and  fine  surface  is  desirable. 

CAM    WOOD. 

This  is  a  dye  wood;  that  is,  the  shavings 
boiled  in  water,  or  treated  with  alcohol,  yield  a 
handsome  dye,  which  is  largely  used  in  the  arts. 
It  is  moderately  hard,  in  about  the  same  degree 
as  mahogany,  and  is  plain  in  surface ;  it  is  hand- 
some for  inlaying  and  veneering  in  contrast  with 
ebony,  but  changes  to  a  brown  with  age. 

BOX    WOOD. 

This  is  so  well  known  to  be  a  fine-grained,  buff 
yellow  color,  and  easily  worked  wood,  as  to  need 
little  further  explanation  of  its  characteristics.  It 
is  becoming  scarcer  and  dearer  every  year,  but  is 
of  little  general  value  to  the  amateur  from  its 
monotonous  sameness ;  one  piece  being  like  all  the 
others ;  whereas,  with  snake  wood,  or  granadilla, 
perpetual  surprises  await  one.  Eefuse  box  wood, 
in  odd-shaped  pieces,  can  be  bought  very  cheap 
from  those  who  make  it  a  business  to  fit  up  blocks 
for  engravers,  and  also  from  wood-type  makers. 


82  MANUAL   OF   THE    HAND   LATHE. 

LAUREL    ROOT. 

This  is  a  peculiar  wood,  and,  in  my  opinion, 
more  peculiar  than  pretty.  It  has  a  singular 
feeling  under  the  tool,  cutting  much  like  cheese  or 
gum  ;  like  any  thing  else,  in  fact,  but  wood.  In 
veining,  it  closely  resembles  brier  wood  and  bird's 
eye  maple ;  pipes  have  been  made  of  it.  It  is 
quite  sound,  but  cannot  be  said  to  be  handsome. 
It  is  the  root  of  the  common  swamp  laurel,  I  am 
told,  and  requires  long  seasoning  and  drying  to 
be  manipulated. 

WHITE    HOLLY. 

This  is  a  pure  white  wood,  very  easily  bent, 
turned,  and  cut,  straight  of  grain,  and  very  useful 
for  inlaying.  Quantities  of  needle  cases,  fans,  and 
such  wares,  are  made  of  it.  It  is  a  native  of  this 
country,  though  the  best  is  said  to  come  from 
England.  This  seems  quite  unnecessary,  for  I 
have  picked  out  of  my  wood-pile  quantities  of 
white  holly,  as  handsome  in  color  and  in  grain,  as 
one  could  wish  to  see. 

EBONY. 

Every  one  has  his  prejudice,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  but  that  many  will  consider  me  lacking  in 
taste  if  I  condemn  this  wood.  It  has  one  sole  re- 
deeming feature — blackness — which  renders  it  in- 


ORNAMENTAL    WOOD9.  83 

dispensable  in  many  cases.  Yet  I  have  seen  rock 
maple  dyed  black,  that  put  ebony  to  shame  for 
richness  of  color  and  fineness  of  grain.  No  ebony 
that  I  ever  saw  was  black,  naturally.  It  was 
brown,  and  became  black  by  oiling  and  varnish- 
ing. There  is  a  variety,  called  "  bastard  ebony," 
which  is  full  of  whitish  brown  stripes,  and  is  soft 
like  pine,  but  the  true  ebony  is  not  to  me  a  pre- 
cious wood,  although  it  is  expensive,  and,  in  some 
cases,  undeniably  handsome.  In  spite  of  all  se- 
lection, aided  by  good  judges,  I  have  frequently 
found  my  "  black  ebony  "  any  thing  but  black ; 
it  is  full  of  season  streaks  and  cracks,  and  splits  in 
the  most  perverse  and  unexpected  manner. 

OLIVE    WOOD. 

This  is  the  wood  of  the  olive  tree,  and  is  chiefly 
valuable  for  its  odor ;  that  is,  to  those  who  like 
that  odor.  In  color  it  is  like  white  wood,  and  is 
without  any  marked  feature,  except  that  of  scent. 

SANDAL  WOOD. 

This  is  a  fragrant  wood,  light  buff-colored,  and 
very  soft,  and  straight  in  grain.  In  general  it  is 
like  pine  wood,  splitting  straight,  working  easily, 
and  valuable  solely  for  its  odor. 


84:  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

ROSE    WOOD. 

This  is  an  exceedingly  beautiful  wood,  and  is 
so  well  known,  in  its  general  nature,  as  to  need 
no  recommendation.  In  marking,  it  is  so  delicate 
as  to  admit  of  the  finest  work,  and  yet  retain  the 
beauty  of  the  pattern. 

CURLED  MAPLE. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  our  native 
woods;  in  point  of  color,  and  power  of  retaining 
it,  in  marking  and  in  variety,  it  is,  to  me,  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  of  all  woods.  The  vein  has  a 
sinuous  sweep  and  curve  to  it,  which  is  heightened 
by  varnishing  and  polishing,  to  a  marked  degree. 
All  of  the  handsome  woods,  however,  have  a  pecu- 
liar intractability,  so  to  speak,  which  renders  them 
slow  and  tedious  to  work.  In  fact,  it  is  just  this 
stubbornness  of  grain  which  renders  them  beauti- 
ful, for,  by  running  in  all  directions,  interlacing 
the  fibres,  so  that  the  end  of  the  grain  is  alter- 
nately presented  side  by  side  with  the  parallel 
grain,  the  light  is  caught  and  retained  on  dead 
surfaces  that  absorb  it,  making  those  beautiful  con- 
trasts which  the  most  uncultivated  admire. 

BIRD'S   EYE    MAPLE. 

This  is  also  a  handsome  wood,  full  of  round 
spots  interspersed  with  circular  markings,  the 


V 

OKNAMENTAL    WOODS.  85 

whole  forming  a  handsome  contrast  when  well 
handled.  Pear  and  apple  tree  woods  are  also 
handsome,  but  none  of  the  native  woods  exhibit 
so  great  variety  in  tint  and  markings,  as  those 
which  grow  in  tropical  countries.  There  is  no 
occasion  to  continue  a  mere  list  of  woods  which 
can  be  found  in  any  shop,  and  this  branch  of  the 
subject  will  be  dropped. 

TREATMENT. 

The  first  thing  that  occurs  to  the  workman 
when  he  possesses  or  sees  a  handsome  piece  of 
wood,  is:  What  shall  I  make  with  it?  Many 
kinds  of  wood  show  well  in  large  works,  but  in 
smaller  wares,  such  as  sleeve  buttons,  and  napkin 
rings,  they  look  like  common  wood ;  it  is,  there- 
fore, labor  lost  to  spend  time  in  working  out  a 
nice  job  to  show  the  veining  and  marking  of  the 
wood,  because  such  veining  is  not  brought  out 
fully.  The  first  care  is  to  select  sound  wood.  It 
is  one  of  the  most  vexatious  things  in  the  world 
to  have  a  nice  job  nearly  done,  and  find  a  large 
worm  hole  extending  right  through  the  center  of 
it,  interfering  with  the  tool  and  destroying  the 
beauty  of  the  piece.  In  such  a  case,  the  only  re- 
sort is  to  plug  it  up,  but  no  matter  how  skillfully 
this  is  done,  the  plug  is  certain  to  show,  and 
always  mars  the  appearance.  Some  kinds  of 
8 


86  MANUAL   OF  THE   HAND  LATHE. 

foreign  woods  are  almost  always  worm  eaten. 
Snake  wood,  for  instance,  is  very  liable  to  that 
fault,  and  too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  in  ex- 
amining it.  Ebony  is  not  so  liable  to  it,  and 
native  woods  are  peculiarly  free  from  it. 


WOOD    TUBNING.  87 


CHAPTEE  XL 

WOOD    TURNING. 

IN  turning  wood,  the  speed  cannot  be  too  high, 
or  the  tool  too  sharp.  The  faster  the  speed,  the 
more  perfect  the  surface  produced  by  the  tool.  In 
centering,  also,  it  is  necessary  to  use  care  in  get- 
ting a  sound  place  to  begin  on ;  otherwise,  when 
in  the  middle  of  a  job,  the  centers  change  and  the 
work  is  spoiled.  This,  of  course,  relates  to  work 
that  is  turned  on  centers,  such  as  chess-men,  pen- 
holders, rulers  with  ornamental  ends,  "  what-not " 
legs  ;  in  fact,  anything  of  that  class.  The  driving 
center  or  one  that  goes  in  the  head  of  the  lathe, 
commonly  called  the  live  center — in  opposition  to 
the  one  in  the  back  end  of  the  lathe  head,  which 
does  not  move,  and  is  called  the  dead  center — 
should  be  properly  made,  or  Fig.  54. 

much  confusion  will  be  the  re- 
sult. Very  many  use  the  com- 
mon bit,  like  Fig.  54,  which  is 
a  very  poor  device  for  the  purpose.  There 
being  no  guard  at  the  corners  of  the  bit,  they  are 
liable  to  slip  when  strain  is  brought  on  the  work 


r 


88  MANUAL  OF  THE   HAND  LATHE. 

by  the  tool ;  it  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  make 
the  driving  bit,  or  center,  like  Fig.  55,  which  re- 
presents a  section  through  the  front  edge  and  the 
flat  pieces  at  the  top,  to  prevent  the  work  from 
slipping. 

In  turning  very  small  work,  say  penholders 
Fig.  55.  for     example,    I   have 

found  centers  useless 
to  drive  from,  and 
after  trying  dogs,  com- 
monly used  for  metal 
turning,  and  many 
other  devices,  have  found  no  more  efficient  or 
expeditious  plan  than  to  round  the  end  of  the 
wood  slightly  with  a  pocket-knife,  as  in  Fig.  56 ; 
insert  the  rounded  end  in  a  chuck,  and  place  the 
other  in  the  back  center.  In  this  way,  I  am  able 
to  command  the  whole  range  of  the  work, 
Fig.  56.  from  end  to  end, 

without  interference, 
and  to  have  the 
small  tip  where  it  is 
necessary  to  have  it  to  keep  steady ;  that  is,  near 
the  center. 

I  saw  all  my  pieces  for  turning,  into  square 
strips.  I  never  split  them  ;  splitting  shivers  and 
cracks  hard  and  precious  wood,  and  makes  un- 
sound that  which  was  previously  sound. 


WOOD    TURNING.  89 

Besides,  it  is  more  economical  and  more  ex- 
peditious. If  you  cannot  saw  them  yourself, 
handily,  take  them  to  the  nearest  wood- worker 
who  has  a  circular  saw,  and  he  will  do  it  for  a 
trifle. 

8* 


90  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND  LATHE 


CHAPTER  XII. 

TOOLS   FOB  WOOD  TURNING. 

IT  does  not  seem  necessary  to  go  into  the  dis- 
cussion of  tools,  or  shapes  of  tools,  for  wood 
turning,  for  the  grand  and  great  reliance  for 
roughing  is  the  gouge,  and  a  skillful  workman 
will  do  as  many  things  with  it  as  the  Russian 
carpenter  is  said  to  do  with  his  axe,  which  is  al- 
most his  only  tool.  For  smoothing,  there  is  the 
flat  chisel,  and  for  special  work,  every  one  will 
find  tools,  or,  rather,  make  those  he  finds  best 
suited  to  his  needs. 

I  would,  however,  here  say  with  great  earnest- 
ness, that  it  makes  all  the  difference  in  the  world 
what  kind  of  steel  you  get  in  your  tools,  whether 
they  are  worth  any  thing  or  not.  I  never  found 
any  turning  tools  in  stores,  that  I  considered 
worth  any  thing.  They  are  generally  made  for 
working  soft  woods,  such  as  pine,  but  the  amateur 
needs  tools  of  a  different  class  and  temper.  Hard 
woods  are  full  of  dust  on  the  outside,  and  seem 
more  or  less  impregnated  with  silica,  the  principle 
which  forms  the  coating  on  the  stalks  of  rye  and 


TOOLS   FOR   WOOD  TURNING.  91 

cereal  grains  generally,  which  destroys  the  cutting 
edge  in  a  short  time,  and  also  draws  the  temper. 
I  have  therefore  found  it  convenient  to  make  my 
own  tools  out  of  the  best  steel  I  could  buy,  and 
temper  them  myself.  The  difference  is  very 
marked,  for  where  I  formerly  went  to  the  grind- 
stone every  few  minutes,  I  now  use  a  tool  a  long 
while,  thus  saving  many  steps  and  minutes. 

I  therefore  repeat — choose  your  steel  from  such 
as  you  find  the  best,  and  harden  it  yourself.  If 
you  don't  know  how,  a  few  trials  will  enable  you 
to  do  it  "  everytime,"  as  the  saying  is.  I  have 
found  Sanderson's,  Jessops,  and  Stubbs,  all  good 
steel ;  also  Park  Brothers  American  steel  first-rate 
for  general  work.  No  doubt  there  are  some  who 
will  take  up  this  book,  and  for  the  first  time  read 
of  the  matters  contained  therein,  to  whom  harden- 
ing and  tempering  are  "  all  Greek ;"  to  such  I  will 
explain  the  process. 

Very  often  amateurs  buy  tools  which  are  good 
if  they  were  only  properly  hardened,  and  to  them 
also,  it  may  be  of  service — if  they  do  not  already 
know  it — to  be  able  to  do  this  simple  thing. 


92  MANUAL   OF  THE   HAND  LATHE. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

TOOL    TEMPERING,    ETC. 

THE  great  object  is  to  harden  at  as  low  a  heat 
as  possible,  so  as  not  to  injure  the  steel.  The 
tool  must  not  be  treated  as  a  blacksmith  does 
iron,  nothing  like  so  hot,  but  so  as  to  be  of  a  dull 
cherry  color.  Steel  that  will  not  harden  at  this 
heat  is  poor  stock.  When  so  heated,  plunge  it 
into  cold  water.  This  will  make  the  tool  hard 
and  brittle,  like  glass,  so  that  it  is  not  fit  to  cut 
with ;  you  must  then  rub  it  bright  on  a  piece  of 
emery  paper  or  a  grindstone,  and  hold  it  in  the  fire 
for  a  second  or  so  at  a  time,  until  the  temper  is 
drawn  to  the  right  degree  of  toughness  and  tenaci- 
ty. This  will  be,  for  turning-tools  for  hard  wood, 
of  a  dull  blue-brown,  say  violet,  color.  Straw 
brown  is  hard  enough  to  cut  steel,  and  you  do  not 
want  such  a  temper  for  wood  in  general,  but  for 
some  purposes,  it  is  desirable  to  have  a  very  hard 
tool.  When  the  edge  crumbles,  it  is  too  hard,  and 
must  be  lowered  in  temper ;  when  it  rounds  over, 
or  dulls  quickly,  it  is  too  soft,  and  needs  to  be 


TOOL    TEMPERING,    ETC.  93 

hardened.  This  much  in  the  way  of  tools  of 
which  more  will  be  said  hereafter. 

Many  things  are  not  held  in  the  centers  at  all, 
but  are  grasped  by  chucks,  of  different  patterns 
or  shapes.  This,  to  me,  is  the  most  satisfactory 
way  of  turning,  inasmuch  as  it  allows  perfect 
liberty  and  sweep  in  all  directions,  and  does  not 
restrict  the  fancy  or  imagination  of  the  work- 
man. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  mention  what  kinds  of  work 
can  be  done,  for  that  will  occur  to  every  one,  but 
I  will  merely  give  here  an  illustration  of  the  fa- 
Fig.  57.  Fig.  58. 


cility  which  the  chuck  affords  for  all  kinds  of 
work.  Fig.  57  is  a  box  cover,  and  being  held  at 
first  by  the  corners,  permits  the  inside  to  be 
turned  out  to  fit  the  bottom.  Afterwards,  what- 
ever finish  or  pattern  is  desired,  can  be  given  to 
the  top.  There  is  in  every  lathe,  a  center  screw, 
like  Fig.  58,  which  is  useful  for  holding  work 


94  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

that  has,  or  is  to  have,  a  hole  in  it,  but  for  fine 
work  it  is  not  suitable,  for  the  obvious  reason 
that  the  screw  spoils  it.  Fig.  57  is  the  scroll  chuck, 
and  is  a  favorite  instrument  of  mine.  I  could 
dispense  with  many  things — the  face-plate  of  the 
lathe  for  one — better  than  I  could  with  this.  If 
I  want  to  make  a  sleeve-button,  there  is  my 
friend,  the  scroll  chuck,  ready  to  hold  the  piece 
true  to  the  center,  without  any  adjustment  what- 
ever and  hold  it  firmly,  too.  If  I  wish  to  bore  out  a 
ring,  the  chuck  will  grasp  true,  and  hold  it  with- 
out spring :  in  fact,  not  to  dilate  unnecessarily,  I 
call  it  the  one  thing  no  turner  can  afford  to  be 
without.  There  are  many  in  the  market,  but  the 
best  one  for  general  work  of  this  class,  I  have 
found  to  be  that  made  by  A.  F.  Cushman,  of 
Hartford,  Connecticut.  He  makes  a  very  small 
chuck,  also,  for  holding  drills,  that  is  exceedingly 
convenient  for  them,  and  for  holding  screw  wire, 
or  any  work  of  that  class.  The  "  Beach  Chuck," 
made  by  the  Morse  Twist  Drill  Company  of  New- 
Bedford,  Massachusetts,  is  also  a  good  chuck,  but 
as  I  am  not  BQW  discussing  the  merits  of  chucks, 
I  will  return  to  the  subject  in  hand — treatment  of 
woods. 

I  do  not  design,  in  this  little  work,  telling  any 
one  how  to  hold  a  tool,  for  it  is  to  be  presumed 
that  at  least  that  part  of  the  craft  has  been  ac- 


TOOL    TEMPERING,    ETC.  95 

quired.  Even  if  I  did  essay  to  tell  them,  I  could 
no  more  impart  such  knowledge  than  one  could 
skate  by  seeing  another  person  do  it.  Observa- 
tion and  practice  are  the  only  teachers. 


96  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

ARTISTIC  WOOD  TURNING. 

SOME  of  the  most  beautiful  work,  really  artis- 
tic in  every  sense  of  the  word,  is  made  by  laying 
up  woods  of  different  colors,  but  of  the  same  general 
character  as  regards  hardness.  If  this  latter  pre- 
caution, which  I  have  italicised,  be  neglected,  the 
result  will  be  wholly  unsatisfactory,  for  where 
two  or  more  woods  of  different  densities  are  laid 
up  together,  side  by  side,  the  tool  will  act  upon 
the  hardest  very  well,  but  will  glide  or  spring 
over  the  inferior  material,  and  thus  leave  an  un- 
even surface.  White  holly  and  ebony  work  well 
enough  together,  but  I  do  not  consider  ebony  a 
hard  wood.  Of  course  there  are  many  who  will 
dispute  this  assertion,  but  it  is  easy  enough  to 
pick  out  specimens  of  any  wood  that  are  hard,  but 
what  I  mean  to  say  is,  that,  in  general,  it  is  not  a 
truly  hard  wood,  like  rosewood  or  even  cocoanut. 
White  holly  is  almost  as  soft  as  pine,  and  con- 
trasts finely  with  the  only  natural  black  wood 
that  we  have.  There  is  one  other  black  wood, 
of  which  I  have  seen  specimens,  that  is  perfection 


ARTISTIC   WOOD   TURNING.  97 

itself,  so  far  as  color,  grain,  and  strength  are  con- 
cerned. Indeed,  it  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  a 
grain,  so  firm  and  solid  is  it  in  texture.  It  turns 
like  horn,  or  ivory,  and  is  of  the  "darkest,  deep- 
est, deadliest,"  black.  Unfortunately,  I  cannot 
give  the  name  of  it,  for  the  reason  that  the  gentle- 
man who  gave  it  to  me,  did  not  know  himself 
what  it  was,  and  he  obtained  it  from  the  captain 
of  a  vessel  trading  to  Africa.* 

Mere  white  and  black  wood,  side  by  side,  do 
not  look  well  unless  some  kind  of  pattern  or  de- 
sign is  observed,  and  if  the  pattern  is  obtained 
only  at  great  expense  of  time  and  labor,  it  is  also 
unsatisfactory.  I  shall  show,  further  along,  how 
different  designs  can  be  produced  rapidly  and  ac- 
curately, with  but  comparatively  little  labor. 

By  inlaying,  too,  many  most  beautiful  designs 
can  be  produced,  with  but  little  labor  compared 
to  that  which  is  generally  bestowed  upon  such 
work.  This  kind  of  ornamentation  is  beautiful 
upon  work  tables,  work  boxes,  cigar  stands,  paper 
knives,  fan  handles,  fancy  boxes,  inkstands,  card 
cases,  vases,  picture  frames,  penholders,  sleeve 
buttons,  ear-rings,  chess  and  checker  men,  napkin 
rings,  fancy  drawer  knobs,  jewel  caskets,  watch 
holders,  glove  boxes,  in  fact,  the  whole  array  of 

*I  have  since  learned  that  it  is  called  African  "Black  Thorn." 
9 


98  MANUAL   OP  THE   HAND  LATHE. 

fine  cabinet  work,  looks  better  when  neatly  and 
tastefully  inlaid  with  woods  that  match  and  har- 
monize with  the  subject,  and  with  each  other.  I 
think  that  some  of  the  methods  I  practice  are  new 
to  most  persons,  and  I  am  sure  they  will  be  found 
accurate  and  expeditious ;  which  last  is  a  point  of 
no  small  importance ;  for  when  a  person  works  a 
long  time  over  an  elaborate  thing,  he  gets  terri- 
bly tired  of  it  after  while,  if  it  is  slow  and  plod- 
ding. In  fact,  where  there  is  muct  that  is  uniform 
in  character,  as  in  making  a  check  pattern,  in 
black  and  white  colors  in  squares,  not  over  the 
tenth  of  one  inch  wide — it  is  impossible  to  make 
any  thing  like  regularity,  or  fine  fitting,  and  close 
joints,  by  handling  each  piece  separately. 

I  therefore  have  a  variety  of  what  I  call 
"stock"  on  hand,  ready  laid  up,  in  all  colors  and 
dimensions,  so  that  I  can  choose  from  it  exactly 
as  I  would  pick  out  a  tool.  This  stock  consists 
of  wood  laid  up  in  the  patterns  shown  in  Figs. 
59-67,  and  of  sizes  varying  according  to  my  de- 
signs, but  generally  very  near  the  sizes  here 
shown. 

These  are  laid  up  in  long  strips,  say  twelve 
inches  long,  or  as  may  be  conveniently  handled. 
They  are  all  sawed  out  with  a  fine  circular  saw, 
by  some  one  who  understands  cutting  hard  wood 
for  this  purpose.  The  stuff  must  be  shoved 


ARTISTIC   WOOD  TURNING. 


99 


through  the  saw  with  a  very  regular,  gradual 
feed,  so  as  to  cut  a  smooth  surface,  and  if  the  saw 
is  not  right  for  cutting  smooth  on  the  side,  it 
must  be  made  so ;  for  it  will  not  do  to  plane  the 
strips  after  they  are  sawed,  as  there  never  would 
be  any  uniformity  between  them,  and  the  joints 


Fig.  59. 


Fig.  60. 


Fig.  61. 


Fig.  62. 


Fig.  63. 


Fig.  64.      Fig.  65.     Fig.  66. 


Fig.  67. 


I 


would  be  very  imperfect.  In  gluing  them  up, 
there  is  nothing  particular  to  be  observed,  except 
that  the  glue  must  be  very  hot,  laid  on  well  with 
a  stiff  brush,  and  the  stuff  clamped  between  two 
thick  boards,  which  have  been  planed  perfectly 
true  on  the  faces ;  so  that  the  union  will  be  perfect 
between  the  strips.  In  this  way  the  job  will  be 


100 


MANUAL    OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 


well  done,  and  the  sections  will  show  uniformly. 
As  it  is  the  sections  that  are  mainly  used,  this  is  a 
matter  of  great  importance;  for  when  it  is  neces- 
sary to  have  an  ornamental  border  to  a  work-box, 
for  example,  it  is  only  requisite  to  saw  off  as 
many  sections,  from  the  end  of  any  of  the  blocks, 
as  may  be  desired ;  as  in  Fig.  68.  It  is  then  a 

Fig.  68. 


simple  and  easy  thing  to  lay  them  in,  one  after 
another,  in  the  place  that  has  been  left  for  them. 

I  do  not  saw  off  each  square  strip  by  itself  be- 
fore I  glue  the  stock,  but  I  lay  up  several  flat 
pieces,  as  in  Fig.  69,  which  represents  one  end 
Fig.  69.  section  of  the  strips,  longer  than  it 
is  high,  the  saw  removes  some  in 
cutting,  so  that  when  I  saw  down 
through  the  top  vertically,  as 
shown  by  the  straight  line  A,  I  ob- 
tain square  strips  in  long  pieces,  but  all  glued  to- 
gether so  they  are  easy  to  handle,  these  I  after- 
ward glue  together  again,  so  that  white  and  black 


AUTISTIC    WOOD    TURNING.  101 

alternate,  as  in  the  checker-board,  and  I  then  have 
the  pattern  precisely  uniform  in  all  the  length  of 
the  stock.  I  claim  originality  for  this  plan,  and 
also  expedition  in  execution ;  more  than  either  I 
get  entire  uniformity.  Of  course  it  is  easy  to 
make  any  other  pattern  in  the  same  way,  and  it  is 
surprising  to  see  how  many  rectangular  and  acute- 
angled  patterns  can  be  made  with  these  sections. 
It  is  sometimes  possible  to  get  veneers  of  the 
right  thickness,  but  any  veneer  cutter  will  saw 
the  wood  as  desired. 

•  Since  the  paragraph  above  was  written,  I  have 
seen  some  "  Tunbridge  Ware"  work  made  in 
England,  which  is,  I  am  sure,  done  in  the  same 
way.  Therefore,  I  am  not  the  originator  of  the 
idea,  but  I  can  certify  that  it  is  a  good  and  a 
quick  way  of  making  very  elaborate  patterns. 


102  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND  LATHE. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

STAMP   INLAYING. 

OF  course  there  are  times  and  places  where  the 
sameness  and  rigidity  of  angular  patterns  are  te- 
dious, and  the  eye  and  hand,  fatigued  by  it, 
desire  a  change  into  something  more  graceful  and 
harmonious  in  effect.  The  smaller  the  pattern, 
the  more  tedious,  irksome,  and  expensive  the 
goods.  To  avoid  delay  is  one  object  of  the  work- 
man, but  to  obtain  perfection  is  the  chief.  In 
order  to  do  this,  we  must  have  some  plan  or  some 
tool  to  multiply  the  same  shape  with  great  ra- 
pidity and  regularity. 

In  fine  workmanship,  or  rather  in  small  pieces, 
it  would  be  impossible  to  cut  out  any  great  num- 
ber with  the  certainty  of  their  being  at  all  similar ; 
some  would  be  large,  some  small,  and  all  different. 
Let  us  imagine  that  it  is  desired  to  inlay  a  laurel 
wreath,  or  a  garland  of  stars  in  an  elliptic  pattern 
about  the  edge  of  a  box  cover,  as  in  Fig.  70.  It 
will  be  seen  that  to  cut  each  one  in  with  a  chisel 
would  be  an  endless  task.  I  therefore  propose 
to  do  it  much  quicker  than  it  can  be  done  by 


STAMP    INLAYING.  103 

other  plan,  and  that  is  by  a  stamp.     I  make  a 
Fig.  70. 


steel  stamp,  or  punch,  of  the  exact  size  of  the 
pattern  I  wish  to  let  in  the  box,  and  am  careful  to 
have  it  bevel  inwards,  from  the  edges  toward  the 
top,  as  in  Fig.  71,  not  only  to  avoid  breaking 
down  the  edges,  but  to  make  a  clean,  sharp  im- 
pression in  the 
wood.  It  is  ne- 
cessary to  cut  in 
pretty  deep,  for, 
with  all  your  care,  you  cannot  avoid  breaking  the 
edge  to  some  extent,  and  it  can  only  be  practised  on 


Fig.  71. 


104  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

any  solid,  sound  wood,  not  veneered.  Except  for 
large  patterns,  I  do  not  put  veneers  in  these  inci- 
sions, or  stamp  markings,  as  I  could  not  cut  them 
out  so  small,  as  the  pattern  shows  in  the  engrav- 
ing, but  I  either  make  a  cement  of  white  lead,  and 
push  that  into  the  holes,  or,  using  the  same 
stamp  I  cut  in  the  pattern  in  the  wood  with,  I  cut 
pieces  out  of  thin  sheet  German  silver,  and  push 
them  in  with  great  ease.  If  I  use  silver,  I  am 
careful  to  cut  in  below  the  surface  of  the  cover 
on  the  box,  so  that  I  can  put  the  cover  in  the 
lathe  again,  and  refinish  the  top  so  as  to  be  flush 
with  the  silver.  In  this  way  I  get  a  true,  uniform, 
and  even  pattern,  which  looks  as  if  it  had  grown 
in  its  place ;  for  grace  and  elegance  of  appearance, 
it  cannot  be  surpassed.  Where  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  use  a  chisel  and  cutting  tool  to  inlay 
with,  I  still  make  stamps,  even  so  large  as  half  an 
inch  superficial  area,  for  they  are  soon  cut  out, 
and  serve  to  mark  the  outlines  for  the  chisel,  so 
that  it  is  easier  to  cut  the  pattern  by  their  aid. 

In  straight  lines,  or  even  in  letting  in  circles, 
parts  of  circles,  ellipses,  in  fact,  any  curved  or 
angular  work  with  veneers,  I  invariably  cut  the 
pattern  out  before  laying  it  on  the  box,  and  then 
fit  the  other  colored  pieces  in  the  spaces  left. 
Very  many  veneers  cannot  be  handled  at  all  when 
dry,  without  breaking  all  to  pieces  and  spoiling 


STAMP    INLAYING.  105 

the  pattern.  It  will  be  necessary  to  soak  ebony, 
for  instance,  for  some  time  before  you  want  to  use 
it.  With  this  precaution,  you  can  cut  it  in  any 
shape  without  danger.  It  is  the  same  with  maple 
veneer.  When  I  have  cut  out  an  intricate  pat- 
tern in  ebony,  and  wish  to  inlay  the  same  with 
holly,  I  obtain  an  exact  duplicate  of  the  shape  the 
holly  should  have,  by  placing  it,  wet,  over  the 
ebony,  holding  it  firmly,  so  that  it  cannot  slip, 
and  then  rapping  the  holly  with  the  end  of  a  tool 
handle.  In  this  way  a  fac  simile  of  the  pattern  is 
transferred  in  wet  lines  to  the  holly,  and  you  have 
only  to  follow  them  over  with  a  lead  pencil  to  get 
a  perfect  shape.  Then  take  a  sharp  square-ended 
knife,  and  laying  the  veneer  on  a  hard  surface, 
cut  slowly  and  carefully  all  round  the  marks,  and 
after  a  few  incisions,  you  will  have  the  satisfaction 
of  seeing  it  come  out  perfect. 


106  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

DESIGNS   IN   MOSAIC. 

THESE  methods  greatly  expedite  the  labor  of 
inlaying,  for  mere  labor  much  of  it  is ;  that  is, 
when  repetition  of  the  pattern  is  frequent,  as  it  is 
in  small  designs. 

The  great  trouble  and  vice  of  amateur  me- 
chanics is  haste;  they  are  too  anxious  to  see  the 
result  of  a  design  to  give  it  proper  attention  in 
detail,  and,  as  a  consequence,  it  lacks  that  nicety 
and  uniform  elegance  that  characterize  the  shop- 
made  goods.  For  where  men  work  by  the  day, 
they  are  not  too  energetic  as  a  rule. 

DESIGNS  IN   MOSAIC. 

By  this  I  mean  the  employment  of  small  bits  of 
different  colored  woods  to  produce  a  certain  effect. 
I  have  seen  many  that  were  made  to  represent 
foliage  of  trees,  the  wood  being  stained  green,  of 
course,  but  these  works  of  art  seem  to  me  labor 
thrown  away,  and,  except  as  mere  curiosities,  are 
in  no  wise  attractive;  for  no  workman  can  do 


DESIGNS  IN   MOSAIC.  107 

more  than  imitate  nature  in  this  line,  and  it  is  a 
poor  imitation. 

A  legitimate  branch  of  this  line  of  work  is  that 
wherein  small  bits,  say  of  the  size  of  Fig.  72,  can 
be  conveniently  used.  When  laid  in  nicely,  and 
the  colors  arranged  to  harmonize,  they  certainly 
look  well,  resembling  the  straw  ™  ^ 

flower  work,  or  inlaid  straw 
work  of  Japan.  The  wood  may 
be  dyed  any  color  desired,  but  it  is  much  nicer  to 
use  those  colored  by  nature,  which  do  not  fade. 
I  give  here  a  list  of  naturally  colored  woods,  use- 
ful for  this  kind  of  work. 

Black — Ebony. 

Red— Cam  Wood,  Tulip  Wood. 

Yellow — Boxwood. 

White— Holly. 

Brown — Walnut,  Cocoa. 

Red  Brown — Spanish  Cedar  (cigar  box). 

These  woods  all  inlay  well  except  the  Spanish 
Cedar  and  Walnut,  which  are  apt  to  chip  and 
sliver  off  on  the  edges,  when  cut  thin.  Cam  wood 
is  a  pretty  red  wood,  very  close  in  grain,  but  not 
to  be  had  in  veneers,  as  it  is  used  chiefly  for 
making  dyes.  Most  of  this  kind  of  work  looks 
better  when  ranged  in  angles  about  a  center, 
though  I  recently  sawr  a  work-box  in  Boston, 
which  had  an  accurate  representation  of  a  worsted 


108  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND    LATHE. 

pattern  worked  on  a  canvas,  but  as  the  workman 
had  unfortunately  selected  a  very  ugly  pattern, 
and  the  woods  had  faded,  his  labor  was  wholly 
thrown  away. 

After  having  arranged  or  laid  one  course  in 
mosaic  work,  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  follow 
the  whole  around,  but  it  is  absolutely  essential 
that  the  pieces  to  be  let  in  should  be  fac  similes 
of  each  other,  for  unless  this  is  the  case,  the  pattern 
will  come  out  wrong  when  the  ends  are  joined,  or 
where  it  meets.  Great  care  must  be  observed  in 
this,  and  as  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  cut 
slips  of  veneer  so  small,  and  be  accurate,  I  prefer 
to  take  a  slip  of  wood,  and  saw  off  of  the  end, 
having,  of  course,  previously  planed  and  calli- 
pered the  stick  perfectly  true.  Here  let  me  say, 
that  the  saw  I  use  for  this  purpose,  is  the  watch- 
makers' dividing  saw,  the  same  as  jewellers  use. 
Some  of  the  saws  are  scarcely  larger  than  a  horse 
hair,  while  others  are  three-tenths  of  an  inch  deep 
and  very  narrow.  With  this  instrument  I  can 
work  very  delicately  as  regards  thinness  and 
smoothness  of  surface.  It  is  also  admirable  for 
scroll  sawing,  of  which  more  hereafter. 

Of  course,  all  these  are  small  jobs,  and  small, 
fine  work ;  when  it  comes  to  more  elaborate  pat- 
terns, such  as  a  regenerally  found  on  tables,  work- 
boxes,  musical  boxes,  and  similar  things,  it  re- 


DESIGNS    IN   MOSAIC.  109 

quires  more  time,  but  as  the  pattern  is  large,  it  re- 
quires no  particular  patience  beyond  that  which 
a  very  fine  piece  of  work  does.  But  where  the 
pieces  are  small,  as  in  mosaic,  it  takes  a  great  deal 
of  patience  to  pick  up  one  after  another,  and  no 
small  degree  of  artistic  talent  to  bring  them  all  in 
in  the  right  place. 

10 


HO  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

FINISHING  THE   OUTSIDE. 

WHEN  the  pattern  has  all  been  laid,  the  next 
thing  that  remains  is  to  finish  the  exterior,  and 
polish  it  or  oil  it  as  may  be  desired.  To  do  this 
it  is,  of  course,  necessary  to  use  great  care.  The 
veneers,  if  they  have  been  used,  are  very  thin, 
about  the  twenty-fifth  part  of  an  inch,  and  there  is 
not  much  to  come  off.  It  must  therefore  be 
scraped  very  carefully  with  a  sharp  scraper, 
either  in  the  lathe,  or,  if  the  work  be  a  flat  sur- 
face, by  a  scraper  held  in  the  hand,  and  made  of 
sheet  steel  of  the  best  quality.  In  using  the 
scraper,  care  must  be  taken  to  humor  the  grain 
of  the  wood,  so  that  it  will  not  be  roughened  up 
by  being  rubbed  the  wrong  way.  When  it  has 
been  scraped  sufficiently  smooth,  it  must  be  tho- 
roughly rubbed  with  sand  paper,  until  it  has  an 
even,  uniform  surface  all  over.  If  it  is  to  be  var- 
nished and  polished,  French  polish  as  it  is  termed, 
such  as  is  seen  on  pianos,  it  will  require  a  long  time 
and  much  experience  to  make  it  a  success.  The 
reason  is  this :  the  polish  is  really  given  to  the 


FINISHING   THE    OUTSIDE..  Ill 

gum  of  which  the  varnish  is  composed,  and  not  to 
the  wood  itself.  The  gam  sinks  into  the  pores  of 
the  wood  and  fills  them  up,  and  hardens  as  it  is 
applied,  but  the  fluids  in  which  the  gums  are  dis- 
solved, either  turpentine  or  oil,  evaporate  compar- 
atively slowly,  so  that  before  each  coat  is  applied, 
the  previous  one  must  be  dry  and  hard,  or  else 
the  next  one  will  be  streaky,  and  the  surface  will 
be  ridgy. 

The  length  of  time  depends  greatly  on  the 
weather;  from  three  to  six  months  being  re- 
quired to  properly  dry  and  harden  a  piano-case  so 
that  it  will  wear — six  months  is,  however,  ex- 
treme, and  is  only  the  case  in  very  warm  weather. 
It  will  easily  be  seen  why  so  many  amateurs  fail 
in  producing  that  vitreous  glaze,  or  polish,  which 
is  so  universally  admired.  Not  one  in  fifty  has 
patience  enough  to  wait  until  the  first  coat  dries, 
before  the  second  is  applied,  and  they  keep  trying 
the  varnish,  to  see  if  it  won't  work,  in  a  day  or 
two  after  it  has  been  put  on.  It  sometimes  takes 
ten  days  before  the  third  coat  is  ready  to  apply 
the  next.  It  is  a  common  fault  to  apply  too  much 
varnish  on  the  first  coat.  It  is  necessary  to  rub 
it  into  the  grain  of  the  wood,  so  that  it  is  tho- 
roughly charged  with  it,  and  sinks  into  the  pores. 
By  rubbing  it  is  merely  meant  to  take  a  little  on 
the  brush  and  cover  the  surface  gradually,  without 


112  MANUAL  OF  THE   HAND  LATHE. 

trying  to  make  it  look  well  or  ill.  The  ground 
work  has  to  be  put  on  first,  before  any  thing  can 
be  done  toward  ornamenting.  After  one  coat  has 
been  put  on,  it  must  be  rubbed  down  with  sand  pa- 
per to  remove  any  varnish  that  may  not  have  sunk 
into  the  work,  and  when  all  is  fair  and  smooth  and 
dry,  a  second  coat  may  be  applied  and  treated  in 
the  same  way.  The  third  coat  may  be  applied 
rather  more  freely,  and  must  be  left  to  get  tho- 
rougly  hard  before  treating  it.  It  must  then  be 
rubbed  freely  with  pumice  stone  flour,  and  water. 
This  will  leave  it  bright  and  hard  if  the  varnish 
has  been  skillfully  put  on,  and  a  coat  of  flowing 
varnish  may  now  be  put  on  for  the  last.  Flowing 
varnish  is  so-called  because  it  is  lighter  in  body 
than  most  varnishes,  and  is  intended  as  the  last  of 
all,  to  produce  that  elegant  glossy  surface  which 
characterizes  all  fine  work. 

Many  persons  use  shellac  varnish,  which  is 
simply  gum  lac  (the  proper  name  is  "lac"), 
which  is  a  gum  found  in  the  Indies;  the  trade 
give  it  the  names  of  shell-lac  and  seed-lac,  and 
one  other  which  I  have  forgotten :  shell-lac  is  the 
kind  used  for  varnish.  The  gum  is  simply  dis- 
solved in  alcohol  of  high  proof;  the  solution 
being  aided  by  exposure  to  a  warm  place  and 
agitation  from  time  to  time.  As  this  varnish 
dries  immediately,  or  within  an  hour,  owing  to 


FINISHING  THE   OUTSIDE.  113 

the  rapid  evaporation  of  the  alcohol ;  it  is  very 
convenient  for  amateurs  who  are  of  an  energetic 
turn  of  mind,  and  wish  to  see  their  productions 
turned  and  finished  in  a  breath,  as  one  may  say. 
It  takes  a  fair  polish,  but  is  by  no  means  so  dura- 
ble or  beautiful  as  copal  or  hard  varnishes.  On 
some  woods,  as,  for  instance,  cherry,  pine,  or 
cedar,  it  is  very  appropriate,  and  looks  well. 

It  is  quite  easy  to  write  these  instructions  and 
observations  down,  but  there  is  a  dexterity,  ac- 
quired only  by  practice,  which  cannot  be  told  to 
any  one,  and  the  operator  must,  if  possible,  inform 
himself  by  visiting  the  nearest  cabinet  or  piano 
factory,  and  see  with  his  eyes  for  himself. 

I  should  have  said  previously  that  ivory  black 
introduced  into  shell-lac  varnish,  gives  a  very 
good  black  lacquer,  closely  imitating  japan,  while 
other  colors,  such  as  blue,  carmine,  green,  or  yel- 
low, have  the  effect  of  enamel  when  handsomely 
rubbed  down  and  polished  with  several  coats.  I 
have  seen  some  most  beautiful  knobs  for  drawers, 
fancy  handles,  etc.,  made  in  this  way,  that  looked 
like  porcelain. 

Oiled  wood  looks  well  in  furniture,  and  there 
may  be  some  who  desire  to  use  it  on  fancy  work. 
It  is  simply  linseed  oil  applied  in  successive  coats ; 
but  it  requires  time  to  dry,  and  always  has  a  dis- 
agreeable odor  about  it. 
10* 


114  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

INLAYING    CONTINUED. 

Fig.  73.  A  VERY  convenient  tool  for  inlaying 
veneers  edgewise,  so  as  to  produce  alter- 
nate dark  and  white  lines  is  made  by  tak- 
ing a  piece  of  steel,  one  fourth  of  an  inch 
by  one  sixteenth  thick,  and  making  a 
chisel,  like  Fig.  73.  The  bottom  is 
rounded  to  prevent  it  from  digging  in. 
To  use  this  tool,  or  to  inlay  fine  white 
and  black  lines,  or  white  lines  alone,  all 
over  the  surface  of  any  piece  of  wood  in 
any  pattern  desired,  it  is  only  needful  to 
mark  out  the  pattern  first,  incise  it  all 
around  with  a  sharp  keen  edge,  such  as 
a  knife  blade  broken  off  to  form  a  square 
end,  and  then  follow  the  lines  with  this 
tool,  when  the  wood  will  come  away,  leav- 
ing a  clean  channel,  in  which  the  veneer 
may  be  inserted  with  expedition  and 
neatness.  In  crossing  the  corners,  it  is 
necessary  to  use  caution,  so  that  they  be 
not  broken  away,  for  no  inlaying  looks 
well  if  chipped,  or  ragged  at  the  edges. 


INLAYING   CONTINUED.  115 

This  is  especially  convenient  for  drawing  lines 
across  mahogany  boxes  that  have  been  put  toge- 
ther before  inlaying  was  thought  of  for  them. 
The  veneers  should  all  be  glued  together,  side 
and  side  first,  that  is,  if  two  colors  are  used,  then 
they  will  fit  on  the  ends  properly,  and  may  be 
handled  with  more  expedition. 

GLUING  IN   VENEERS. 

In  a  previous  part  of  this  little  work  I  have  ad- 
vised the  use  of  waterproof  cements  for  fine  in- 
laying, so  that  dampness  will  not  affect  them,  but 
as  this  is  not  always  convenient,  it  is  well  to  make 
the  glue  so  that  it  can  be  used  and  the  work 
finished  off  in  a  short  time.  This  is  easily  done 
by  making  the  glue  as  thick  as  it  will  run,  or  so 
that  it  is  like  a  jelly.  If  applied  in  this  condition, 
it  will  set  hard  in  thirty  minutes,  and  the  work 
may  be  cut  down  without  fear  or  danger  of  its 
moving.  I  have  done  this  frequently,  in  order  to 
see  what  kind  of  work  I  was  making.  Always 
put  a  clamp  on  your  work  wherever  you  can,  for 
although  the  glue  will  adhere  of  itself  to  the 
wood,  it  adheres  much  more  strongly  if  pressed 
down  by  a  clamp.  Also,  never  put  a  veneer  on  a 
piece  of  work  that  is  uneven,  for  although  it  may 
set  square  under  the  pressure  of  the  clamp,  when 
you  come  to  scrape  it,  it  will  give  way  and  yield 


116  MANUAL    OF   THE   HAND    LATHE. 

to   the    inequalities,   and   when    varnished    and 
polished,  will  be  full  of  depressions. 

Don't  be  afraid  to  rub  down  with  sand  paper, 
under  the  impression  that  you  are  spoiling  the 
work,  but  let  the  varnish  get  thoroughly  dried, 
and  be  hard  before  you  attempt  it.  Be  sure,  also, 
to  remove  every  particle  of  varnish  if  you  touch 
it  at  all,  otherwise  that  which  remains  will  take  a 
coat  while  the  bare  wood  will  not  take  so  much, 
and  you  will  have  a  surface  full  of  scars  and 
ridges.  It  is  not  necessary  to  touch  the  wood  in 
rubbing  down,  but  go  down  to  the  wood,  so  that 
a  waxy  appearance  is  presented,  and  you  will  have 
a  handsome  finish  that  will  add  greatly  to  the 
beauty  of  the  work.  White  holly  is  easily  soiled 
when  used  in  connection  with  ebony,  by  the  dust 
from  it,  and  it  will  be  necessary  to  rub  it,  or  scrape 
it  delicately,  before  varnishing,  without  touching 
the  ebony. 

IVORY. 

This  substance  is  certainly  a  most  attractive 
one  to  the  turner.  Pure  in  color,  hard,  solid  and 
strong  beyond  belief  in  texture  or  grain,  it  has 
the  fewest  disadvantages  of  any  substance  we 
use.  It  is  easily  dyed  to  any  shade,  and  will  hold 
it  a  long  while.  Either  for  jewelry,  or  rather  for 
personal  adornment,  or  articles  of  utility,  it  is 


INLAYING   CONTINUED.  117 

well  adapted,  and  but  for  the  cost  of  it  would 
be  in  general  use.  It  is  getting  dearer  and 
scarcer  each  year.  The  best  comes  from  Ceylon, 
and  that  in  least  repute  from  African  elephants ; 
the  former  is  said  to  be  much  stronger  and  more 
solid. 

Of  its  general  manipulation  there  is  not  much 
to  be  said,  except  that  the  workman  will  find  it 
trying  to  the  edge  of  his  tools.     In  all  respects  it 
can  be  cut  and  turned  like  hard  woods. 
Fig.  74. 


It  is  easily  softened  by  immersion  for  a  time  in 
weak  acid,  so  that  its  friability,  toughness,  or 
tendency  to  resist  the  carving  tool,  is  destroyed, 
and  this  without  injuring  the  goods,  unless  the 
acid  is  too  strong. 

As  it  is  so  expensive  in  general,  it  is  well  for 
the  amateur  to  know  that  he  can  purchase  it  in  all 
shapes,  either  in  squares  like  Fig.  74,  or  in  flat, 
cord-like  slips,  from  dealers  in  it.  I  will  mention 
one  person,  F.  Grote,  78  Fulton  street,  New  York, 
who  generally  has  a  good  assortment  of  this  kind. 

It  is  extremely  convenient  to  find  pieces  of  the 
exact  size  and  shape  one  needs,  and  it  is  also 


118  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

economical,  both  in  time  and  material,  for  all 
ivory  must  be  sawed,  and  that  is  slow  work  where 
there  are  no  facilities.  After  the  article,  what- 
ever it  may  be,  is  turned,  it  may  be  either  dyed, 
or  polished  in  its  natural  color. 

POLISHING. 

This  is  performed  in  the  easiest  way.  A  wet 
rag  will  polish  ivory,  but  in  order  to  put  on  a 
brilliant  gloss,  take  starch,  or  Spanish  white,  satu- 
rate a  wet  rag  with  it,  and  hold  it  on  the  work ; 
when  dried  off  and  rubbed  with  a  woolen  cloth  or 
a  piece  of  chamois  leather,  it  will  have  a  brilliant 
and  durable  gloss. 

DYEING   IVORY. 

I  tried  a  great  many  plans  and  recipes  for  dye- 
ing ivory  before  I  hit  upon  any  that  were  in  all 
respects  satisfactory.  Most  of  them  were  nasty, 
involved  the  purchase  of  drugs  and  dyes  that 
were  sure  to  be  adulterated,  and  the  results  were 
vexatious,  but  one  day,  in  dyeing  some  silk  with 
family  dye  color,  prepared  by  Howe  and  Stevens, 
of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  the  idea  occurred  to  me 
to  try  it  on  ivory.  It  succeeded  to  admiration, 
and  I  had  found  what  I  had  so  long  sought, 
namely,  a  clean,  cheap,  simple  and  sure  method 
of  coloring  ivory  to  any  shade  needed,  in  a  short 


INLAYING  CONTINUED.  119 

time.  The  color  can  always  be  had,  ready  for 
use,  in  any  town,  as  much  so  as  a  bottle  of  ink, 
while  the  various  shades  and  gradations  of  tint 
are  ready  made  to  hand ;  there  is  no  need  of  stale 
urine,  or  any  other  mess, — simple  immersion  in 
the  hot  liquid  from  ten  to  twenty -four  hours  will 
give  a  permanent  and  brilliant  hue  to  any  article. 
I  have  never  seen  such  brilliant  colors  as  these 
dyes  give.  The  solferino  and  the  black  are  par- 
ticularly handsome,  and  are  insoluble  in  water ; 
that  is,  the  goods  may  be  washed  without  injury. 
The  solferino  will  not  bear  hard  rubbing  in  water, 
but  the  black  and  other  colors  will,  without  in- 
jury. The  depth  to  which  the  color  penetrates  de- 
pends upon  the  length  of  time  the  goods  are  im- 
mersed, but  twenty-four  hours,  and  even  six  hours 
in  some  cases,  will  answer  all  purposes.  For  chess- 
men, the  solferino  is  a  splendid  color,  while  all 
the  other  tints  can  be  had  for  other  kinds  of  fancy 
work. 

Ivory  is  particularly  suitable  for  mosaic  inlay- 
ing, as  it  never  chips,  and  can  be  cut  into  the  small- 
est and  thinnest  pieces  without  danger  of  fracture. 
It  will  hold  on  wood  with  glue,  though  there  are 
other  cements,  stronger,  for  the  purpose. 

It  can  also  be  dyed  before  inlaying,  and  after- 
wards rubbed  down  to  a  uniform  surface,  but  the 
work  must  be  done  well,  as  the  dyes  do  not  always 


120  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

penetrate  equally,  and  if  the  work  is  delicate  and 
the  design  small,  it  is  apt  to  change  the  colors  to 
rub  them  down.  Napkin  rings,  breast  pins, 
masonic  mallets  and  emblems  generally,  miniature 
gothic  chairs  with  carved  backs  for  ornamental 
purposes,  chess  and  checker  men,  small  boxes  for 
lip  and  eye  salves,  needle  cases,  thimble  cases, 
ring  and  jewel  boxes,  penholders,  silk-winders 
card  cases,  all  afford  a  fine  opportunity  for  the 
skill  and  taste  of  the  amateur. 


ORNAMENTAL    DESIGNS    FOR    INLAYING.    121 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

ORNAMENTAL   DESIGNS    FOR    INLAYING. 

ALTHOUGH  a  handsomely  veined  piece  of  wood 
is  as  beautiful  a  thing  as  any  one  would  wish  to 
see,  there  are  occasionally  pieces  of  work  that 
look  well  inlaid,  and  for  this  it  is  desirable  that 
we  should  have  as  pretty  patterns  and  judiciously 
chosen  woods  and  contrasts  as  we  can  get. 

I  give  here  what  I  think  is  a  pretty  design  for 
the  cover  of  a  round  box.  It  is  easily  made,  and 
I  venture  to  suggest  that  the  following  colors  will 
will  be  found  agreeable ;  No.  1,  tulip  with  out- 
side edge  of  white  holly,  tulip  to  be  cut  across  the 
grain.  No.  2,  ebony  cut  out  of  a  solid  veneer, 
that  is  not  pieced.  It  will  save  a  great  deal  of 
time  and  labor  to  glue  this  veneer  on  to  mahoga- 
ny a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  and  then  saw  the 
pattern  out  with  a  fine  turn-saw.  To  get  the 
veneer  off  whole,  soak  it  in  warm  water  for  a 
few  minutes.  No.  3,  boxwood.  No.  4,  ebony. 
No.  5,  tulip,  or,  if  you  can  get  it,  turtle  wood. 
It  is  sometimes  to  be  had  of  Henry  A.  Kerr, 
Center  street,  New  York,  dealer  in  woods.  The 
11 


122  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND   LATHE. 

central  flower  can  be  omitted  or  executed.  It  is 
a  good  deal  of  work,  but  will  make  a  beautiful 
piece  when  well  done.  Turtle  wood  is  very  re- 
markable, being  yellow  inclining  to  salmon, 
mottled  with  brownish  black  streaks,  sometimes 
black  with  superb  crimson  markings,  like  a  sum- 
mer sunset  after  a  thunder  storm. 

Fig.  76  is  another  similar  pattern.  Of  course  the 
workman  will  make  such  disposition  of  the  colors 
as  he  pleases.  When  these  are  varnished  and 
French  polished,  they  certainly  look  splendidly, 
and  are  specimens  of  work  that  any  one  may  be 
proud  of;  of  course  supposing  them  to  be  well 
titted  as  to  joints,  and  without  the  glairy,  sticky 
appearance  that  characterizes  varnish  half  rubbed 
down,  and  that  worked  before  it  has  hardened. 
Hardening  and  drying  are  two  different  things. 
Varnish  dries  before  it  hardens,  and  requires  time, 
the  more  the  better,  to  season,  so  it  can  be  polished. 
This  is  a  very  easy  pattern  to  fit,  and  any  one  of 
experience  can  make  it  complete  in  four  or  six 
hours. 

Fig.  77  is  still  another  pattern,  but  what  is 
shown  dark,  as  at  A,  in  the  outer  circles  should 
be  light  to  represent  tulip  wood.  Tulip  contrasts 
splendidly  with  ebony.  The  center  or  body  of 
the  cover  should  be  rosewood.  This  must  be  put 
on  first,  all  over  the  whole  surface,  and  a  white 


ORNAMENTAL    DESIGNS   FOR   INLAYING.    123 

holly  ring  put  on  the  outside  edge.  The  exterior 
and  interior  circles,  which  form  the  pattern,  are 
then  cut  oat  by  a  tool  like  a  carpenter's  bit  used 
in  the  lathe,  as  in  this  diagram.  The  letter  a  is 
round,  and  will,  of  course,  make  a  slight  center 
hole  in  the  box  cover,  but  as  it  is  covered  up  that 
is  a  matter  of  no  moment.  The  inner  circles  B 
should  also  be  tulip,  or  some  wood  that  contrasts 
with  ebony ;  mahogany  is  very  handsome.  This 
pattern  is  not  pretty,  but  it  is  striking  and  unique, 
which  is  sometimes  the  same  thing.  Of  course, 
the  distances  of  the  circles  must  be  determined 
beforehand  with  a  pair  of  compasses. 

In  scroll  sawing  much  can  be  done  that  is 
pleasing  to  the  eye  in  small  works,  but  for  large 
designs  and  intricate  ones,  the  amateur  will  find 
an  upright  or  jig  saw  necessary,  unless  he  be  more 
than  usually  patient. 

For  the  joints  of  boxes  before  veneering  I  al- 
ways prefer  screws  rather  than  dovetailing,  which 
takes  a  long  time,  and  is  no  better  when  done ; 
screws  are  sure,  never  start,  and  save  time,  which 
is  a  great  consideration  with  amateurs,  whose 
tasks  are  often,  indeed,  in  nearly  all  cases,  carried 
on  after  some  other  labor  is  over,  in  the  interim 
between  arduous  toil. 

White  woods,  such  as  holly,  need  white  glue, 
else  the  joints  will  show.  Beware  of  dust  in  your 


124  MANUAL   OP  THE   HAND   LATHE. 

varnish  brush,  and  take  care  that  you  soak  it  for 
half  a  day  before  using  it,  else  the  hairs  will  come 
out  on  your  work  and  ruin  it.  Flat,  camel's  hair 
brushes  are  to  be  used,  and  can  be  had  in  every 
paint  store.  Use  only  the  whitest  copal  varnish 
for  your  white  holly,  else  you  will  find  it  yellow 
holly  after  the  varnish  has  been  put  on.  Most 
varnishes  need  thinning  slightly  with  turpentine 
before  use,  especially  if  they  have  been  kept  some 
time. 

Keep  your  lathe  centers  so  that  they  mn  true 
on  the  points  at  all  times,  and  have  a  mark  on 
them  so  that  they  always  enter  from  the  same 
side  of  the  lathe  mandrel. 

When  you  put  clamps  on  to  hold  your  veneers, 
as  you  always  should,  be  careful,  if  your  wood  is 
soft,  that  you  do  not  set  the  clamps  so  tight  as  to 
sink  the  veneer  into  the  lower  wood,  for  the 
result  will  be  an  uneven  surface,  that  nothing  can 
remedy. 

Be  careful  to  have  clean  glue  and  clean  surfaces 
if  you  wish  to  make  sound  work.  Dust  or  grit 
ruins  glue  so  that  it  will  not  hold. 


GENERAL  SUMMARY.  125 


CHAPTER   XX. 

GENERAL   SUMMARY. 

IN  polishing  metals,  whether  brass,  iron,  steel, 
or  of  whatever  nature,  it  is  essential  that  the  tool 
marks  and  scratches  of  files,  or  other  agents, 
should  be  entirely  removed  before  the  final  gloss 
is  given,  otherwise  the  work  will  have  a  cheap 
look  that  detracts  very  much  from  its  appearance. 

If  emery  of  the  finest  character  (flour)  is  used, 
with  oil,  the  result  will  be  very  beautiful,  but 
this  makes  a  mess  about  the  lathe  it  is  desirable 
to  avoid.  Polish  with  oil  is  softer  in  appearance 
than  dry  polishing,  and  is  much  more  durable, 
being  not  so  liable  to  rust  and  tarnish.  Dry 
polishing  is  performed  with  sand  paper  of  various 
grades,  running  from  J  to  0.  This  gives  a  very 
bright,  dazzling  finish,  that  is  easily  rusted. 
Brass  must  be  treated  with  rotten  stone  and  oil  to 
be  nicely  polished,  and  after  this  the  burnisher 
should  be  used.  Lacquers  are  employed  for  the 
purpose  of  preserving  the  polish  unimpaired,  and 
are  made  as  follows : 


126  MANUAL   OP  THE  HAND  LATHE 

LACQUERS. 

2  gals.  Alcohol,  proof,  specific  gravity  Dot  less 
than  95  per.  cent. 
1  Ib.  Seed-lac. 
1  oz.  Gum  Copal. 
1  oz.  English  Saffron. 

1  oz.  Annotto. 

Another. 

40  ozs.  Proof  Alcohol. 
8  grs.  Spanish  Annotto. 

2  drs.  Turmeric. 
J  oz.  Shellac. 

12  grs.  Bed  Sanders. 

When  dissolved  add  30  drops  Spirit  of  Tur- 
pentine. 

Directions  for  Making. — Mix  the  ingredients, 
and  let  the  vessel  containing  them  stand  in  the 
sun,  or  in  a  place  slightly  warmed,  for  three  or 
four  days,  shaking  it  frequently  till  the  gum  is 
dissolved,  after  which  let  it  settle  from  24  to  48 
hours,  when  the  clear  liquor  may  be  poured  off 
for  use.  Pulverized  glass  is  sometimes  used  in 
making  lacquers,  to  carry  down  the  impurities. 

The  best  burnisher  is  a  piece  of  bloodstone 
ground  to  shape  and  set  in  a  handle  ;  they  can  be 
bought  for  about  a  dollar  and  a  half  at  any  watch- 


\. 

j**'  mil  »  ..,     i.in  •»'•*'•' 

GENERAL    SUMMARY.  127 

makers'  tool  store.  Kouge  powder  is  also  an  ex- 
cellent thing  for  polishing  brass  and  German 
silver.  German  silver,  in  wire,  also  in  sheet,  can 
be  had  at  the  same  place. 

For  silver  plating  fluid  the  workman  will  find 
that  manufactured  by  Howe  &  Stevens,  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  to  be  the  best  of  its  class,  as  it 
leaves  a  thin  coating  of  pure  silver  on  the  metal, 
which  can  be  renewed  from  time  to  time,  as  it 
wears,  by  a  fresh  application. 

Any  articles  that  require  to  be  gilt  can  be  best 
done  by  electro  platers,  who  will  deposit  as  much 
gold  on  the  surface  as  one  desires,  even  to  the 
thirty-second  part  of  an  inch.  It  is  better,  how- 
ever, to  buy  a  small  battery,  which  can  be  had  for 
four  or  five  dollars,  and  do  this  for  yourself.  Yery 
many  other  things  can  be  electro-plated,  and  fac- 
similes of  medals  produced  at  a  small  cost,  which 
will  be  both  instructive  and  ornamental. 

SOLDERING. 

There  are  many  ways  of  soldering,  but  the 
amateur  will  find  the  spirit  lamp  and  the  solder- 
ing iron  the  most  convenient  and  expeditious. 

In  soldering  tinned  surfaces,  no  particular  care 
is  needed,  as  the  solder  will  adhere  easily,  but  in 
brass,  or  other  metals,  it  does  not  do  so  without 
the  aid  of  a  rosin  flux  or  acid  solution.  These 


128  MANUAL   OF  THE    HAND   LATHE. 

simply  act  to  make  the  surfaces  chemically  clean, 
so  that  the  solder  will  hold.  In  fact,  cleanliness 
is  absolutely  indispensable  to  success,  for  the 
solder  will  crawl  off  of  any  thing  that  is  dirty  or 
greasy,  even  though  it  may  not  appear  to  be  so. 
Lead  and  tin  are  used  for  solder,  and  can  be 
bought  of  any  tinner  very  cheaply.  The  end  of 
the  soldering  iron  (which  is  not  iron,  but  copper, 
by  the  way)  should  be  tinned,  otherwise  the  sol- 
der will  not  hold  on  it,  neither  will  it  follow  when 
the  iron  is  drawn  along  a  seam. 

The  iron  is  readily  tinned  in  this  way.  File  it 
to  the  shape  you  want  it,  and  put  it  in  the  fire, 
heating  it  pretty  hot,  but  nothing  like  redness. 
You  are  then  to  wipe  it  clean  quickly  on  a  rag 
wet  with  soldering  fluid,  which  can  be  had  in 
drug  stores,  and  is  made  of  muriatic  acid  and 
sheet  zinc  dissolved  in  the  same ;  the  zinc  must 
be  clean,  and  in  small  strips,  and  shaken  gradually 
until  dissolved.  The  solution  must  then  be  well 
diluted  with  water.  It  is  used  by  wetting  the 
rag  aforesaid  with  it  and  rubbing  the  iron  in  it ; 
if  block  tin  in  strips  be  now  rubbed  on  the  end 
of  the  iron,  it  will  adhere,  and  the  iron  will  be 
ready  for  use.  The  iron  must  not  be  heated  so  as 
to  melt  off  the  tin  and  expose  the  copper  under- 
neath ;  for  the  iron  is  then  useless  until  tinned 
again. 


GENERAL   SUMMARY.  129 

The  soldering  fluid  is  always  to  be  used  when 
brass,  or  any  surfaces  not  coated  with  tin,  are  to 
be  united, 

By  the  spirit  lamp  you  can  join  metallic  sur- 
faces very  easily  and  quickly  as  follows :  take 
your  plate,  or  whatever  it  is  you  wish  to  join  to- 
gether, and  scour  it  bright  with  fine  sand-paper 
or  pumice  stone  and  water,  on  the  faces  to  be 
united.  Apply  the  soldering  fluid,  hold  it  over 
the  spirit  lamp  blaze,  and  as  soon  as  it  is  well 
heated,  rub  it  over  with  a  stick  of  tin  ;  when  it  is 
well  tinned,  lay  it  on  a  hot  flat  iron  or  the  stove 
for  a  minute,  until  you  have  tinned  the  other 
piece,  then  clap  both  together,  ana  they  will  set 
instantly. 

The  blowpipe  is  very  convenient  for  soldering 
small  pieces  together  that  cannot  be  touched  with 
the  iron,  but  as  it  requires  some  skill  to  use  it, 
the  amateur  is  not  likely  to  be  very  successful 
with  it.  The  articles  to  be  soldered  in  this  way, 
should  be  placed  on  a  piece  of  charcoal,  so  that 
the  heat  will  be  equally  distributed  and  kept  up 
during  the  process. 

VARNISHING  AND    POLISHING. 

On  no  account  is  a  second  coat  of  varnish  to  be 
applied  before  the  first  one  is  dry.  If  this  is  done 
the  result  will  be  a  sticky,  ridgy,  dirty  looking 


130  MANUAL    OF    THE   HAND   LATHE. 

job.  Before  the  work  is  varnished  even,  it  must 
be  thoroughly  sandpapered  to  remove  inequalities, 
and  the  last  sandpapering  should  be  with  the 
finest  grade.  Then  apply  the  varnish,  taking 
care  not  to  put  too  much  on  for  the  first  coat. 
When  that  is  dry  and  hard,  sandpaper  with  fine 
paper  again  and  varnish  again.  Three  to  four 
coats  are  enough  for  ordinary  work.  When  the 
last  coat  is  dry  and  hard,  get  some  floated  pumice 
stone  flour,  that  is,  pumice  stone  flour  that  has 
been  washed,  mix  it  with  water  to  about  the 
thickness  of  cream ;  apply  it  to  a  woolen  rag,  and 
rub  it  gently  over  the  work ;  not  too  hard,  for 
that  would  cut  the  varnish  off  down  to  the  wood. 
After  a  while  you  will  see  that  the  surface  of  the 
varnish  begins  to  have  a  hard,  smooth  body,  like 
carriage  work.  When  this  occurs,  you  can  wasli 
the  pumice  stone  all  off,  and  take  a  little  Tripoli 
or  rotten  stone  and  oil,  and  rub  gently  all  over 
the  job ;  you  will  then  have  a  surpassingly  beau- 
tiful and  brilliant  surface,  that  will  show  the 
grain  and  vein  of  the  wood  to  perfection.  If  you 
desire  the  ^loss  that  varnish  gives,  you  must 
apply  a  thin  coat  of  wearing  varnish  after  this, 
In  varnishing,  you  must  buy  "  rubbing  varnish  " 
if  you  intend  to  polish  and  oil  varnish,  not  spirit, 
which  is  apt  to  crack  and  rub  up  under  the  treat- 
ment. 


GENERAL   SUMMARY,  181 

BRUSHES, 

In  varnishing,  you,  of  course,  desire  to  have  a 
true  and  even  surface,  without  a  ridge  to  show 
where  the  brush  left  it.  Camel's  hair  fiat  brushes 
are  used  for  this  purpose,  but  they  will  not  an- 
swer in  spirit  varnishes,  as  the  hairs  drop  out  or 
are  loosened  from  the  action  of  the  spirit  on  the 
shellac  or  glue,  which  holds  them  in.  Bristle 
brushes  are  the  best  for  general  use.  They  must 
be  soaked  for  an  hour  or  more  in  cold  water,  to 
fasten  the  bristles  before  using. 

PEARL. 

This  substance  is  easily  sawed  into  shape,  and 
is  easily  turned  with  a  common  steel  tool.  It  is 
polished  readily  with  pumice  stone  and  water  and 
"putty  powder,"  this  last  to  be  had  of  chemists 
or  lapidaries.  It  is  better  to  preserve  the  colored 
surface  as  nature  left  it,  for  the  beautiful  rays 
and  tints  presented  by  it  are  owing  to  a  peculiar 
disposition  of  thin  scales  on  the  surface,  which  re- 
tain the  light;  if  these  be  destroyed,  the  beauty 
of  the  material  is  lost.  It  is  to  be  had  of  marine 
store  keepers  generally,  or  the  amateur  can  get  it 
more  readily  of  the  nearest  button  manufacturer. 

MISCELLANEOUS   TOOLS. 

If  you  buy  any  tools,  always  buy  the  best  that 
money  can  get.  P.  S.  Stubs'  files,  wire,  rimmers, 


132  MANUAL   OF   THE    HAND    LATHE. 

and  screw  plates,  are  standard  tools,  and  the  ama- 
teur cannot  go  astray  in  choosing  them.  A  vise 
is  indispensable,  and  it  should  be  large  enough  to 
hold  the  work  without  springing. 

CURVING  MAPLE  VENEERS. 

If  you  wish  to  curve  a  veneer  so  that  it  will  fit 
a  half  or  a  whole  circle,  it  is  easily  done  by  dip- 
ping it  in  hot  water,  when  it  will  instantly  curl 
up  into  any  shape  you  want.  I  do  this  with  bird's 
eye  maple.  This  wood  is  easily  stained  any  hue, 
and  is  rather  handsomer  in  chocolate  brown  than 
in  its  natural  color.  It  is  then  the  nearest  to 
French  oak  of  any  wood  that  we  have,  and  that  is 
unquestionably  superb.  Such  markings  and  mot- 
tlings  as  it  has,  surpass  anything  ever  seen;  it  is 
a  deep,  rich,  chocolate  brown  color,  full  of  snarls, 
curves,  and  knots,  not  over  five  eights  of  an  inch 
in  their  largest  diameters,  and  so  beautiful  that  it 
seems  as  if  some  hand  must  have  arranged  them. 

The  French  oak  is  susceptible  of  a  splendid 
polish,  but  I  am  unable  to  say  how  it  works,  for 
I  never  worked  any,  nor  do  I  know  where  to  get 
it.  Curled  maple  will  also  take  a  handsome  dye. 
Get  Howe  &  Stevens's  Dye  Colors  in  powder — 
they  can  be  had  in  any  apothecary's  store,  of 
any  shade — put  it  in  an  earthen  dish  and  boil 
it,  then  dip  or  sponge  the  veneer  with  it.  The 


GENERAL  SUMMARY.  133 

color  will  strike  through  and  through,  and  you 
may  sand-paper  it  as  much  as  you  please  without 
removing  it.  It  is  a  very  beautiful  job  to  take  a 
plain  ogee  moulding  and  curl  a  bird's  eye  maple 
veneer  on  the  round  part,  and  an  ebony  veneer 
on  the  fillet  or  hollow,  and  then  varnish  and 
polish  it.  It  makes  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
picture  frames  that  ever  was  seen ;  having  all  the 
effect  of  mouldings  made  from  the  solid  wood. 

CUTTING   MISCELLANEOUS    MATERIALS. 

By  these  I  mean  horn  jet,  malachite,  alabaster, 
cannel  coal,  glass,  and  similar  substances.  For 
all  of  these,  except  malachite,  steel  will  answer, 
but  that  steel  will  not  touch.  It  is  not  a  nice 
material  to  work,  being  apt  to  check  and  crack  in 
the  most  unlooked-for  manner.  To  those  who 
have  never  seen  it,  I  will  say  that  it  is  a  stone,  or 
species  of  marble,  obtained  in  Russia,  and  is  green 
in  color,  marked  with  white  and  greenish  gray 
stripes.  The  green  is  specially  brilliant,  and  the 
effect  is  very  fine.  Although  it  is  so  hard  that  steel 
will  not  cut  it,  it  is  easily  scratched  in  use,  and  is 
a  soft  stone,  and  can  be  readily  cut  on  a  common 
vulcanite  emery  wheel,  and  polished  on  a  razor 
strop  covered  with  rouge  powder.  It  is  fre- 
quently used  for  jewelry.  Glass  is  easily  filed  in 

a  lathe  with  a  common  file,  but  I  do  not  know 
12 


134  MANUAL   OF   THE   HAND     LATHE. 

what  any  one  should  wish  to  work  glass  for,  as  it 
is  exceedingly  dangerous  from  the  splinters  which 
fly  from  it,  is  quite  friable  and  easily  broken,  and 
is,  moreover,  so  common  that  no  value  attaches  to 
it.  Very  pretty  vases  can  be  made  out  of  ala- 
baster by  turning  them  in  the  lathe. 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Acid  in  soldering ,....  127 

African  black-thorn 97 

Alabaster,  Cutting 133 

Apple-Wood 85 

Arbors 74 

Artistic  Wood-Turning 96 

Bamboo  Pattern 63 

Bank-Bills,  Work  on 73 

Bastard  Ebony 83 

Beach  Chuck 94 

Bird's-eye  Maple 84 

Bit  for  Turning 88 

Black  Thorn 97 

Boiler  for  Toy  Engine 53 

Boring 55 

Boxes,  Joints  of. 123 

Box  for  Pins 62 

Boxwood 81 

Brushes  for  Varnishes 131 

Burnisher 126 

Buttons,  Solitaire  Sleeve 59 

Cam  Wood 81 

Centers 65 

Chasers 33,35 

Chasing 33 

Chucking 42,49 

Chucks,  Geometrical 73 

Chucks,  Wooden 43 

Clamps  for  Polishing 48 

Cocoa  Wood 80 

Colored  Woods 107 

Coloring  Maple 132 

Curled  Maple 84 

Curving  Veneers 132 

Cushnian's  Scroll  Chuck 42 

Cutting  Alabaster 133 

Cutting  Horn 133 

Cutting  Jet 133 

Cutting  Malachite 133 


PAGE 
Cutting  Miscellaneous  Materials...  133 

Cutting,  Ornamental 59 

Cutting  Screws 33 

Designs  for  Inlaying 121 

Designs  in  Mosaic 106 

Diamond  Point 21 

Doctor 37 

Drills,  Twist 75 

Dyeing  Ivory 118 

Ebony ..     82 

Elliptic  Chuck 74 

Fancy  Turning 71 

Finishing  Outside 110 

Foot  Lathe 13 

Foreign  Woods 77 

General  Summary 125 

Geometrical  Chuck 73 

Gilding 127 

Glass  Filing 133 

Globe,  and  Spur  within 68 

Glueing  in  Veneers 115 

Good  Tools  necessary 20 

Granadilla 80 

Hand  Lathes 19 

Heel  Tools 27 

Height  of  Lathe 22 

Holding  the  Tool 23 

Hole  Boring 55 

Holly,  White 82 

Holtzapfel  Lathe 38 

Holtzapfel,  Work  by 16 

Horn,  Cutting 133 

Hubs 40 


Indigenous  Woods.. 77 

Inlaying 97,114 

Inlaying,  Designs  for 121 

135 


136 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Inlaying  Stamps 102 

Iron  for  Soldering 128 

Ivory 116 

Jet  Cutting 133 

Joints  of  Boxes 123 

Lacquers , 126 

Lac  Varnish 112 

Lathe,  Foot 13 

Lathe,  Height  of. 22 

Lathe,  Holtzapfel 38 

Lathe,  Speedof 23 

Lathe,  Uses  of. 16 

Lathes,  Hand 19 

Laurel  Root 82 

Leopard  Wood 78 

Malachite,  Cutting 133 

Mandrels 38,  74 

Maple,  Bird's-eye 84 

Maple,  Coloring 132 

Maple.  Curled 84 

Metal  Spinning 51 

Metals,  Polishing 125 

Miscellaneous  Tools 131 

Mosaic  Designs 106 

Natural  Colored  Woods 107 

Novel  Ornament 68 

Oiled  Wood 113 

Olive  Wood 83 

Ornamental  Cutting 59 

Ornamental  Designs  for  Inlaying..  121 

Ornamental  Woods 77 

Ornamental  Work 14 

Outside  Finishing 110 

Parallel  Holes,  to  bore 55 

Patterns 99 

Pearl 131 

Pear  Wood 85 

Polishing 46,129 

Polishing  Metals 125 

Polishing  Ivory 118 

Polygon  and  Spurs 69 

Rack  for  Tools 75 

Rest,  Slide 57 

Rest,  The 24 

Rosewood 84 

Rosin  Flux 127 

Rouge  Powder 127 

Roughing  off. 24 

Sandal  Wood 83 

Sawing,  Scroll 123 


Scrapers 30 

Screw  Cutting 33 

Screws.  Tool  for  Small 72 

Scroll  Chuck 73 

Scroll  Chuck,  Cushman's 42 

Scroll  Sawing 123 

Shellac  Varnish 112 

Silver-plating  Fluid Vll 

Sleeve  Buttons,  Solitaire 59 

Slide  Rest 54,  57 

Snake  Wood 78 

Soldering 127 

Soldering  Iron 128 

Solitaire  Sleeve  Buttons 59 

Speed  of  Lathe 23 

Spinning  Metals 51 

Stamp  Inlaying 102 

Steel  Mandrels 75 

Straight  Tools 27 

Tamarind 80 

Tempering  Tools 92 

Tinning  Soldering  Iron 128 

Tool  for  Boring  Holes 55 

Tool  for  Inlaying 114 

Tool  for  Small  Screws ,       ..     72 


Tool  Tempering 92 

Tools 22 

Tools,  Holding 23 

Tool*,  Miscellaneous 131 

Tools  for  Wood  Turning 90 

Traversing  Mandrel 38 

Treatment  of  Woods 85 

Tulip  Wood 79 

Tunbridge  Ware  Work 101 

Tuning,  Fancy 71 

Turning,  Wood 87 

Turning.  Artistic  Wood 96 

Turtle  Wrood 122 

Twist  Drills '75 

Uses  of  the  Lathe 16 

Varieties  of  Woods 77 

Varnishing 111,129 

Veneers 104 

Veneers,  Curving 132 

Veneers,  Gluing  in 115 

White  Glue ...  123 

White  Holly 82 

Wooden  Chucks 43 

Wooden  Mandrels 74 

Woods  for  Inlaying 107 

Woods.  Ornamental 77 

Wood  Turning 88 

Wood  Turning,  Artistic 96 

Work,  Ornamental 14 


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